The Last Dragonslayer
by NoobFish
Summary: Sometimes even the greatest legends could hardly tell of the true stories behind a Kingsguard, his woman and the last dragon on Earth.
1. Chapter 1

_Maybe it has been too long ago that these people seemed to have forgotten. I used to think the same way too, that as human beings, we were the sole inheritors of the world and that we are the rightful masters over everything else. Yet, it has been a scant two hundred years ago that dragons ruled the world. How short the span of human memory is. _

_Two hundred years ago, dragons were the masters of everything beneath the heavens. And then began the Great Hunt that eradicated their proud race. The Order of Dragonslayers swept through the land, on the heels of glory and fame, and within decades, the numbers of dragons had dwindled down to a mere handful. And while only the eldest among us remember the terrifying sight of a dragon flying through the sky and breathing dragonfire across the plains, these magnificent creatures have gripped my imagination, and I have sought to study them, and hopefully give them a place in history that they so deserve._

_Imagine my surprise when a friend of mine mentioned that he happened to know a woman by the name of Katherine Stoppable. Could she really be a descendant of the last Dragonslayer? Could she really claim such a famous lineage of the Ronald Stoppable, who slew the last dragon, Sherainz?_

_I could barely contain my excitement as he gave me details of her address. I did as much research as I could, but tomorrow, I will be setting off to her village to look for her. Hopefully she can give me a much better and more truthful account of the hero, Ronald Stoppable._

_From the diaries of Scribe Wade Load_

* * *

The simmering summer sun was shining brightly, lulling all beneath it to a drowsy afternoon. There was no one else who would be out under such a hot weather, except for one lone traveler trudging on the northern dirt path, leading his mottled brown horse by the reins. The blond traveler let out a wide yawn as he rubbed his white tabard with a proud red lion emblazoned on it, the insignia of the Kingsguards, the elite of the King's army. Casting his eyes up to the clear blue sky, he shrugged in defeat and looked over to the tree line on both sides of the dirt path, looking for a nice shaded spot to have a much needed afternoon nap.

Leading his mount to the edge of the trees, he took off the bit in his mount's mouth and let the mottled brown horse graze, before he shucked his canvas satchel under a particularly shady tree and leaned his steel sword against it. With another loud yawn, he laid down besides his belongings. Placing his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep slumber.

Nary a creature stirred in the hot summer weather. The horse slowly grazed on the grassy knoll and occasionally glanced over at his sleeping master before giving a whinny of contempt and returning to the patch of grass before him. Suddenly, its ears twitched. A faint distant clash of steel sounded, and it jerked its head in the direction of the noise. Muffled shouts were heard. Throwing back its mane, the horse trotted over to its master and nudged the blond gently with its muzzle.

"Go away, Rufus" Ron mumbled lazily, as he rolled over on his side, away from the incessant prodding of the horse. "I wanna sleep… Mmm… Goat cheese and bread…"

Unperturbed by his master's seemingly lackadaisical attitude to the danger nearby, Rufus nudged him a little harder. As Ron refused to move, Rufus finally stood back up and threw his head back. And in an unhorse-like manner, he made a hoarse throat-clearing sound at the back of his throat, and spat the biggest wad of sticky and grass-filled horse saliva right into Ron's exposed left ear.

"Eww!" Ron screamed in disgust as he jumped to his feet. Reaching up and wiping away the horse saliva from his hair, he threw a dirty look at Rufus who looked on smugly. "What was that for, you scraggy bag of bones? Didn't I tell you not to do that ever again? I don't want to have to bathe until next month!"

Rufus ignored his tirade and glanced over in the direction of the sounds of fighting that was clearly getting louder. Turning to face Ron again, he gave a slight jerk in the direction of the noise as though to say that they should check it out.

Stopping his rant for a moment, Ron cocked his head to the side and listened to the faint sounds of conflict. With a loud groan, Ron bent over and retrieved his satchel and sword from the ground next to him. "I guess we'd better look…" Ron grudgingly agreed but not before giving out one last tonsil-revealing yawn. "But don't think I have forgiven you for that spitball yet!"

Rufus rolled his eyes, as he waited for Ron to hop back into the saddle before cantering at a decent pace towards the source of the disturbance. As soon as they had headed down the road, past the bend, they saw a group of eight men standing around in a circle shouting threateningly at the sole woman in the center of the circle. They were waving crude weapons at her threateningly, ordering her to drop her belongings and get the hell out of their sight.

"God, she's beautiful…" Ron found his eyes fixed on the woman, mentally blocking out the eight ruffians from his sight.

She was a pale-skinned woman, with the most dazzling green eyes he had ever seen. Her silky hair flowed with the wind, a perfect obsidian black against her fair skin. She stood without fear at about five foot eight, dressed in a tight fitting grey tunic that clung snugly to her lithe body, accentuating her womanly curves and revealing long slender arms. And she held herself with poise and calm, despite the overwhelming odds, with nothing more than a dagger gripped tightly in her right hand, ready to strike the next interloper who dared to come too near.

Before his mind could wax any more lyrical praises in memory of this beautiful sight before him, Rufus had suddenly burst forward in a gallop, almost unseating the startled blond. Quickly regaining his composure, Ron leaned forward on the saddle and patted Rufus gently on the neck before whispering into his ear, "Great idea, buddy, but remember, I saw her first…"

Rufus seemed to throw his head back and shake his head in contempt as though issuing a challenge. Breaking out in a hearty laugh, Ron drew his steel sword out of his scabbard and bellowed out at the top of his voice a ferocious war-cry, "Booyah!"

The startled men drop their weapons in surprise at the charging horse and rider, and they quickly scattered back into the forests, disappearing into the shadows. With a proud smile on his face, Ron sheathed his sword and swung Rufus around to face the beautiful woman. As he wore a charming smile, he dismounted Rufus and greeted the woman.

"It's a pleasure to meet such a beautiful vision such as yourself," Ron greeted her with a flourished bow.

As he looked up, to his surprise, she had a contemptuous scowl on her face. "Fah," she spat on the ground next to him. "I didn't need your help against bandits. Not especially from a _Kingsguard Dragonslayer_."

"Hey, hey, watch it," Ron stepped back, alarmed at the outward hostility from this woman. "Maybe you didn't notice, but it was eight against one back there. Even if you are as good as you think, that's still some pretty nasty odds. Plus…" Ron glanced down at his tabard. "I'm not exactly a Dragonslayer per se… I'm just like a Kingsguard trainee or something." He let out a little laugh. "I've never even been on a dragonhunt."

"Shove off! You're all the same to me!" the woman spat nastily.

"Hey, woah, back up a little," Ron was a little taken-aback. "I mean you no harm, and I just rescued you from a group of bandits. Don't you think I deserve at least a bit of thanks?"

"Not from me," the woman sneered, as she tucked her dagger into her belt and turned to walk away.

"Hey!" Ron called after her. He grabbed Rufus' reins and hurried up to her. "Even if you have something against people like us, I don't think you should just wander off on your own like that… Maybe we could travel together or something…"

"And why should I want to travel with you?" the woman demanded haughtily.

"For one, it's dangerous to travel alone," Ron pointed out cautiously. "And two… I think those bandits are going to be back the moment we split up…"

"I can take care of myself," the woman remarked.

"Ah, I wouldn't… Actually, I couldn't in good conscience leave a woman in obvious danger…" Ron explained as calmly as he could. The woman was starting to get on his nerves. "Look, let's just get to the next town together safely. I'm heading in this direction too, so it wouldn't be a bother at all."

The woman narrowed her eyes for a moment, as she regarded him for a moment. Then she looked over at the mottled brown horse that had suddenly trotted up to her and nuzzled against her affectionately. Subconsciously she reached up and patted the brown muzzle. "Fine," she snapped. "Do whatever you want to do."

"Right," Ron breathe a slight sigh of relief. He held out his hand for a handshake. "Anyway, in case you're wondering, the name's Ron. Ron Stoppable, Kingsguard trainee at your service."

"Hmph," the woman's cold eyes looked contemptuously at his outstretched hand. She turned her back on him and started walking down the dirt path, not caring whether he followed her or not.

She didn't much care for the fact that the man dutifully followed her footsteps, or whether he amateurishly looked over his shoulder trying to catch a glimpse of more bandits. She'd already known that they had scurried back to their den, cursing their luck of running into a Kingsguard _trainee_. Little did they realize that he could have only taken on two, three of them at most, and that she was the one they should have truly feared.

Glancing back, she could see that he was genuinely following her, not saying a word, sort of protecting her. She wondered where that strange notion had come from. _If only he knew who she really was…_

"Shego," she finally spoke, without looking back at him.

"What?" the man uttered in surprise.

"I said, my name's Shego."

"Oh," the man chuckled nervously. "Hey, nice to meet you, Shego."

She grunted in reply, mostly out of annoyance.

* * *

Ron decided that making conversation with the woman was only slightly easier than squeezing blood out of a stone. His best attempts at getting her to talk came for naught, as he simply carried on the conversation on his own.

Reeling her head back in disgust, she finally shouted, "Do you ever get tired of talking? Or do you just want me to cut your tongue out?"

"I… I…" Ron stammered as he stared down the wrong end of Shego's piercing gaze. "I… Want… Awkward… You…"

"Just leave me alone!" Shego spat nastily as she quickened her pace a little. She didn't care where the _Kingsguard_ or his mount was going, as long as they were out of sight, out of mind, she was perfectly fine.

The annoying blond let out a loud sigh behind her and immediately her nape bristled with annoyance. _Doesn't the buffoon ever just shut the hell up?_ She started to regret her decision, and idly toyed with the idea of catching him by surprise, gut him and throw his body into the forest before stealing his mount. It would be days, if not weeks, before anyone realized he was missing. By then she would be six towns away, and no one would be the wiser. All she needed was one more reason to…

"Water?" Ron tapped on her shoulder and offered her a small canteen.

She instinctively flinched and bared her talons, as she eyed the invitation suspiciously. It was an innocent looking metallic flask with some liquid sloshing around in it. Gingerly she reached out her hand and almost snatched the container out of his hand. Glancing suspiciously into the dark insides of the container, she wondered if it contained poison. Taking a small sniff at it, her heightened sense of smell couldn't detect anything unnatural with the liquid inside. She slowly raised the opening of the flask to her lips, while at the same time, keeping a cautious eye on the man.

The cool refreshing liquid touched her lips and she hungrily lapped away. Without realizing it, she had downed the entire flask. Her eyes flicked up suddenly, and she saw the man smiling at her. _No, grinning…_ Her eyes opened wide. _How could I have let my guard down? It's an odorless, tasteless poison! He…_

"Hey, it's okay, don't worry about finishing it. I still got some," Ron quickly interjected, as he reached over to the saddle pack hanging by Rufus' side. He reached into it and pulled out a similar-looking flask, unscrewed the top and took a small sip. Holding out the second flask to her, he asked nonchalantly, "Want some more?"

She was a little taken aback by his attitude. She waited for the tendrils of the poison to eat out her belly from the inside. The phantom pain in her head never materialized, and she realized that she must have looked rather stupid, glowering silently at the flask in her hand.

Sullenly she tossed the empty flask back at him and spun on her heels and walked away, cursing herself for accepting his hospitality.

The sun was almost setting as they arrived at the next town, Lowervale. Like most towns up north, there was a crude wooden wall surrounding the perimeter and simple low guard towers positioned every two hundred paces along the wall. The torches of the guard towers were already lighted and the silhouettes of men could be seen standing watch over the town. While the meager defenses barely afforded any protection in the event of a siege, it has served its purpose of deterring the growing scourge of bandits who prowled the north, a land of lawlessness which could not afford the armies the capital had employed.

Usually army deserters, these men had found themselves wanted as traitors for their cowardice and desertion. King Drakken had decreed that any soldier that runs away from battle as treasonous scum and should be executed like animals, because animals have no sense of loyalty or patriotic pride. Rejected by the very society that they had hoped to return to, they had no choice but to turn to more nefarious activities such as killing and looting travelers for basic survival. And evil begets evil, just like a festering sore spreads its tendrils and even corrupts untainted flesh. The wars that King Drakken had waged against the West had severely depleted his war chest, and he had taxed his people mercilessly, with his own private army of tax collectors; seedy men who would sell out their mothers for a single gold piece and who had no scruples about taking a farmer's last sack of grain saved for the next year's planting season. It was hard to earn an honest living, and even the most honest man has sunk to dishonest means in his darkest hour of desperation.

Subjugating the bandits were the King's last concern on his mind. His efforts were focused on the war, and drawing upon conscription of every man of fighting age, the villages and towns found themselves stripped of able bodied men. Guards were posted to the frontline and home defenses stretched thin. The outlying villages were the ones who suffered most, having to put up with raids every month, robbing the villagers of everything they had to call a livelihood. And so there was a vast migration of people, towards the slums of the cities, where they had hope to afford some modicum of protection. But these people had simply traded the fear of death and destruction of their farmlands for the filth and disease of the slums that surrounded the larger towns and cities like a moat of poverty. And so it was with Lowervale, the northernmost town, its population having swelled to almost twenty thousand people as everyone fled here for the illusion of a better life.

Shego looked around at the thin line of weary travelers that had slowly gathered behind and ahead of her. Their dust-covered faces and tattered clothes belied their watchful eyes as they scan the tree line for any signs of moving shadows. Attacks were more common during the twilight, as the almost dark conditions made it easier for bandits to sneak up on them. They had all looked somber and wary; save one fool of a _Kingsguard_ who was apparently oblivious to the suffering around him. She glanced around and noticed that Ron had hung back a little, chatting to a little girl with tangled brown hair, no older than eight dressed in rough grey drabs, who was riding Rufus.

The little girl giggled as Ron was telling her a funny story and her mom who watched on with a smile on her face as she carried a small basket of potatoes with her. Then the little girl and Ron looked over at Shego suddenly and waved to her. A sense of indignation welled up in her and Shego snorted in contempt and flicked her head away, instead choosing to focus on the town walls in front of her. She could hear the two of them laughing behind her, and her sense of curiosity was angling her neck to glance over at what they were doing.

Regardless, she plodded on towards the gate. She could see four men standing guard there by the gate, wielding crude makeshift farm tools as weapons. They kept a watchful eye on the slow line of people that milled through the gates. They'd quickly singled out lone travelers, ones with unfamiliar faces and those without children, quickly turning them aside and forcing them to move further on the road, despite their protests that it was almost nightfall and they would be at the mercy of bandits.

Ron saw the look in her eyes and offered a few words, "Strangers are seen as the enemy in these parts; when the next man is liable to stick a knife between your ribs, I guess trust wears pretty thin in these parts."

"Fair enough," Shego snorted contemptuously. "I can take care of myself."

Ron shrugged at her words, and turned his attention back to the little girl and her mother, engaging them in light conversation. As they stepped up to the village gateway, a stocky man with large arms nodded Ron and the little girl riding on Rufus through before stopping to question the mother behind him.

"Purpose!" he barked at her.

"I got some potatoes to sell…" she offered meekly. The man glanced into her basket and reached in and pulled out a potato to examine it. Satisfied, he threw it back into the basket and waved her through.

Just as Shego was about to step through the gate, two large imposing bodies immediately blocked her way. The first man eyed her carefully as he asked, "Purpose!"

"I need a place to stay for the night," Shego replied defiantly.

"Then you can sleep in the woods," the man replied calmly. "Next!"

Shego seethed for a moment, wondering whether she should punch his rude face when Ron calmly interrupted the man with a tap on the shoulder. "Excuse me, she's with me…" Ron interjected as he nodded towards Shego.

The stocky man glanced over at Ron, letting his eyes linger on his Kingsguard tabard for a moment. "Fine," he grudgingly agreed. "But if she causes any trouble, she's your problem."

"I can vouch for her," Ron agreed immediately.

With that the two men blocking her way moved aside, letting Shego enter the town. As she walked by Ron, she glowered at his smiling face, and mumbled beneath her breath, "Shut up…"

"By convention, people usually say thank you, you know that?" Ron quipped.

"You don't deserve it, _Kingsguard,_" Shego growled in annoyance.

"That's Kingsguard trainee to you. One day, you know, all that bitterness is going to eat away inside you," Ron sighed. "But then that would be your problem, wouldn't it?" Not waiting for a reply from her, he walked away back to Rufus and the little girl still riding on him.

Shego looked in surprise at his sudden comeback. She glared angrily at the man's back, willing her eyes to bore holes right through the back of his head. Yet he seemed unperturbed as he lifted the little girl off the saddle and gave her a hug, before bidding farewell to the mother and child pair. Rufus flicked his mane and gave a whiney just as the little girl turned around and gave them a final wave.

"You know what, ol' buddy?" Ron grinned as he patted Rufus' neck. "You got it good with the ladies…" He gently pulled on the reins and Rufus started off on a small trot before suddenly turning his head to look at Shego. Ron stopped in surprise and look at his mount, "What is it, Rufus?"

He turned his head to follow Rufus' gaze and saw Shego still standing there, with a scowl on her face and arms firmly fixed across her chest. "Is something wrong?" Ron asked, with a bored tone in his voice. He'd expected her to snap at him.

"Nothing," Shego snapped bitterly and strode away. She stopped for a moment and looked left and right at the small cottages that were huddled closely together.

"First time here in Lowervale?" Ron asked as he walked up to her.

Grudgingly, she nodded her head, as she craned her neck, trying to look for the local tavern. The way the unmarked houses stood made it really hard for her to decide which direction to walk in.

"I know a place," Ron offered slowly. "You can come with us if you want to. I know someone who runs an inn; she'd put us up for the night."

She grinded her teeth at the prospect of accepting _more_ help from the blond. It was true, he had his uses, but she didn't want to feel _indebted_ to him and his kind. Yet, a part of her reasoned that she wouldn't be indebted at all if she was merely _using_ him. And when she was done using him, maybe she'd just kill him, if not just for the fun of it, then maybe just because of his sheer… _buffoonery_.

"Where is it?" Shego asked, using the right inflexion in her tone to mark her disdain.

"Right this way," Ron sighed, before starting to walk down the street.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Oh my god, not another unfinished fic by NoobFish. Can this guy just stop tossing out ideas and not completing them? I'm gonna kill this dude if he doesn't finish this fic too.

Au contraire! This is a finished fic. Finished, as in all seven chapters have been uploaded onto FFNet already. I've pre-empted my laziness by writing it complete before posting. Ah the genius! Right, so before I stroke my ego, and other parts of my body (eww) anymore, the disclaimer still stands, I don't reply to reviews, but thanks for saying hi to all those who persist nonetheless. I'm gonna update this in three days.


	2. Chapter 2

_It was an unspoken truce between the humans and the Masters of the World. The humans had the plains and the seas, while the dragons ruled the mountains and the skies. It was an uneasy peace as the humans lived and multiplied beyond their boundaries with their short life spans, and the dragons watched and waited with their unimaginable years. _

_There was often strife, as neighbors do, with the occasional dragon rampages through a village in search of food, while every so forth, a rare foolhardy hero might decide to test his wits and mettle against these legendary beings. Rarer are those who come back, and rarer still are those who come back victorious. _

_Perhaps it was the height of human idiosyncrasy when the mad King Lipsky wished to forge an alliance with the dragons to conquer the Western Lands. He envisioned an army of dragon riders, the elite of cavalry, swooping down with fire and fang on his enemies. And against the warnings of his trusted advisors, he sent his greatest diplomats to offer the dragons a great role in shaping the history of the world. _

_King Hergog, the mightiest of all dragons, ate the first six of King Lipsky's diplomatic envoys before he grew satiated and weary of the 'offerings' and took the time to listen to the seventh diplomatic envoy. Amused by the insulting offer by the king to serve as nothing but beasts of burden for his ambitions, King Hergog took it upon himself to deliver his reply personally to King Lipsky. _

_It was a dark day in dragon and human history when King Hergog burnt King Lipsky's castle town of Theronea to the ground, leaving nothing but charred ruins and scorched grounds until today. Outraged by the impertinence of the dragons, King Lipsky launched a personal crusade against all dragons, to wipe out the scourge of the land. Leading his armies against the dragons, King Lipsky had lit aflame an eighty-year war that would drag the kingdoms of humans into an unending strife, see a million human lives lost and the obliteration of an entire race. _

_Excerpt from The War of the Dragons, Prologue_

* * *

Shego found herself looking at an unimpressive large lodging house sitting just at the edge of the village by the wooden fortifications. Shego looked at the weathered two-storey building with distrust as she glanced at Ron.

"Hey, I know it's not much, but my friend isn't a very rich…" Ron instantly defended the place. "At least you still have a roof over your head."

"I can see that," Shego replied with a tone of disdain, as she glanced at the damp straw thatching of the roof. She could already mentally count the number of leaks it had.

"Just go on inside and make yourself at home," Ron replied quickly. "You'll see that it's not so bad on the inside. I'll be along in a minute after I make sure Rufus here is settled at the stables." Ron patted Rufus' side as he said that.

Shego hmph-ed distractedly and pushed the door open before walking into the cottage. "Okay, it looks better from the inside than from the outside," she admitted to herself as she looked around the drinking hall. It was… passable. At least the owner had tried to maintain a semblance of decency around here with the cleanliness and appropriate layer of sawdust on the floor. There were a few patrons sitting inside, sipping their mugs of warm ale slowly. They'd only flicked their eyes towards the door briefly before settling back into their own quiet conversations. Shego stood mutely at the door, wondering what to do next when a brown-skinned woman popped her head out of the kitchen at the back and saw her.

"Welcome, welcome!" the woman, who Shego assumed was the owner and the Kingsguard's friend, enthused brightly as she quickly strode across the hall, wiping her hands on her white apron. "Can I get you something?" she asked, ushering the tall woman to a seat by the bar counter.

Shego sized her up slowly. The woman was clearly a southerner from her darker complexion, no doubt only in her early twenties. Yet her hands were showing signs of age after spending too many years washing dishes in the kitchen. Her clothes were simple, yet fitting; she clearly had some money to spend, not like some of the rags that the other townsfolk were shambling around in. Maybe it was something about her bubbly mood…

"Right," she interrupted Shego's thoughts, "Well, take your time to decide, in the meantime, let me get you some dinner and a mug of ale to let you settle down first then."

"That sounds good," Shego nodded her head absent-mindedly.

"I'll be right back," she smiled sweetly before walking briskly back to the kitchen.

Shego slowly looked around the place. _Quaint_, she thought to herself. Her eyes glazed over the liquor bottles behind the counter and contemplated reaching over for one. Her nose was suddenly tickled by the wafting smell of roast meat and she looked up to see the brown-skinned woman place a large plate of pot roast with a side of steam vegetables and a large earthen mug in front of her. Shego sniffed cautiously at the food, wondering whether it had looked a little burnt.

"Here you go…" she said as her voice suddenly trailed off. Shego looked at her in surprise, before the woman suddenly looked up and screamed with delight, "Ron!"

She ran over to the blond Kingsguard who had just stepped through the front door and threw her arms around his neck, almost knocking him off-balanced. Laughingly, he hugged her back and greeted her, "Hey, Monique… Just thought I'd stop by to say hi…"

"You're impossible…" Monique beamed back with a wide smile. "I barely even see you for months, and you just walk right in like that without telling me first."

"Hey," Ron chuckled as he drew back a bit. "You know how it is. Captain Barkin's got me working extra hard these days. I barely even have enough time to see my parents, and I only manage to sneak away this time because Captain Barkin's got an assignment for a few weeks outside the capital."

"Still, you should have told me you were coming," Monique scolded him gently. "I would have prepared something special for you."

"It's okay… It was pretty much an on-the-spot decision by the way," Ron laughed as he took a sniff of the air and looked at Shego's plate of pot roast. "I see your cooking is still something to be desired."

"Hey!" Monique protested. "I did the best I could, considering how bad things are around here."

"It's okay," Ron stepped past her and walked over to Shego, and swiped her untouched plate much to the woman's ire. Ignoring her deadly glares, he remarked lightly, "C'mon, Shego, I'll make something better for us both."

"You know each other?" Monique's eyes widened as she looked at them both.

Ron waved his hand absent-mindedly, as he walked towards the kitchen. "We just met…" His voice trailed off as he stepped into the kitchen and started whistling.

"Oh really?" there was a glint of hardly restraint curiosity in Monique's eye as she quickly slid onto the barstool next to Shego. "So how did you meet Ron?" she asked, barely concealing the excitement in her voice.

"We. Just. Met." Shego enunciated each word slowly, grinding her teeth as she glared at the back of Ron's head.

"Oh, c'mon, there's got to be more to it than that," Monique probed inquisitively. "So how long have you two been dating?"

"What?" The question caught her off guard. Shego's anger quickly evaporated and was immediately replaced with a look of surprise. "I only met him today…"

"Oh…" Monique's face fell in disappointment. "That's too bad then. I thought there was something between the two of you."

"What made you even _think_ that I would like someone like him?" Shego barely disguised her dislike of the blond.

"Hey, for one, Ron's a very, very loyal friend," Monique leaped to his defense, surprised at the hard edge in her voice. "You're lucky to count him as your friend."

"I don't need friends, especially friends like Ron," Shego replied coldly as she raised the mug of ale to her lips.

"Not with that attitude," Monique replied in a huff. "Girl, word of warning around here, since you're an _acquaintance_ of Ron's: that kind of attitude would get you killed out here. I don't care how strong you think you are, but all it takes is one knife between your shoulders to make you wish you have someone like Ron watching your back."

She got up without waiting for a biting remark from Shego and walked towards the kitchen to give Ron a hand. Shego watched her go with a nonchalant shrug and went back to sipping her ale slowly. She drifted back to her own thoughts with a bored look on her face, just waiting for time to pass. Her mug was almost empty when Ron and Monique came out of the kitchen, with three large plates of steaming food.

Ron had set the plates down on at a bar table then proceeded to return to the kitchen to get some utensils, while Monique went around the bar counter to draw another two mugs of ale. Shego found herself walking towards the delicious scents wafting from the table and sat down uninvited despite the cold look Monique was giving her. Shego looked with mild interest at the plate of rice, beans and thick gravy with small lumps of meat in front of her. Not exactly what she'd expected, but she could no longer ignore the hunger pangs in her stomach.

"Go ahead," Ron suddenly appeared from behind and offered her a spoon. "Eat up while it's still hot."

Shego looked suspiciously at the blond man before she started swirling the gravy and rice together before taking a tentative bite. Ignoring the other two, she savored her meal slowly, chewing on every bite and occasionally washing it down with a bit of ale.

"So, Ron," Monique spoke as she sat down across Ron. "You're leaving tomorrow, right?"

"Yup," Ron replied as he started shoving food into his mouth with gusto. Talking with food in his mouth, he continued, "Middlevale's only a day's travel away and my parents are expecting me."

"That's disgusting," Shego suddenly commented as she watched Ron's eating habits.

"What?" Ron gulped down the food in his mouth. "I was just hungry."

"You'll get use to it," Monique offered, giving Ron a reproachful look.

"Hey!" Ron replied sounding hurt. "You have to eat fast, training doesn't leave you much time for anything else, you know."

"You don't have to apologize," Monique replied, giving Shego a raised eyebrow. "Just say hi to your parents for me. Anyway, I'll see you back here in a week?"

"Naw…" Ron shook his head. "Five days, that's when I got to report back for duty."

"That's barely enough time!" Monique exclaimed. "You'll only be at home for two days at most!"

"Yeah, but I take what I can get," Ron replied lightly. "I don't get much time off."

"So what about you?" Monique turned to Shego. "Where are you headed?"

"North."

"That was pretty obvious," Monique replied sarcastically. "Why are you going north anyway?"

"That would be none of your business…"

"What's wrong with me asking anyway?"

"Ladies…" Ron held up his hand as he chewed away. "Let's be civil… If she doesn't want to tell us, that's her choice, okay, Monique? Let's just respect her privacy."

"Fine…" Monique sat back and ate in silence.

Shego took one last gulp of her ale and stared at the bottom of her empty mug. Maybe it was the ale speaking, she had hoped. Maybe she just didn't care anymore, but she spoke softly, "If you must know, I'm going to visit my family."

"That's nice," Ron offered. "Where do they live?"

"They don't."

"Excuse me?" Monique asked.

"They were murdered."

"Oh," Monique tilted her head downward in embarrassment for bringing up a sensitive topic.

"All of them…" Shego continued blithely. She stared silently at her empty mug for a moment before setting it back on the table. Calmly, she looked at Monique and asked, "Do you have a room for tonight?"

"I… Ah…" Monique fumbled around the pockets of her apron and pulled out a large iron key. "Room 2. It's the last…"

"Good," Shego got to her feet and took the key from her hands. With that, she spun on her heels and strode off without a second glance towards the back of the house where the rooms are. Walking down the corridor, she finally stopped at the room with a large 2 numeral carved into the door. With the key in her hand, she unlocked the door and stepped inside the darkened room before quickly shutting it behind her.

Even in the dark, she could still make things out clearly. Making sure the door was locked tight and doubly latched, she headed for the large bed covered with clean white linen sheets and slumped tiredly onto the pillows.

She lifted her head, only barely, to make sure that no one around before she buried her face back among the pillows and curled herself up into a fetal position. The room quickly became silent, save for her own breathing. Then a soft sniffle and a choke… Then silence again.

* * *

She sat up quickly in her bed, breathing heavily, her eyes wildly darting around the room as she tried to recollect her bearings. Realizing that it was only a nightmare, one like so many others she has had, Shego clutched her temples as she swept aside her long black hair that had pasted itself to her sweat-drenched face. She took in a deep breath to calm her fraying nerves as she shuddered from the cool morning air that had swept over her.

She had kicked off her blankets in the throes of her restless slumber and her sheets were moist with her own cold sweat. Cursing softly at her own obvious weakness, she slumped back in her bed, trying to erase the nightmarish visions from her mind. Lifting her hands to touch her face, she tried to reassure herself that it was only a dream and that everything was alright…

She shook her head bitterly at the hollow lie she was telling herself. Looking around the room, she noticed a basin of water and a towel sitting on the nightstand by her bed. She carefully sniffed at the water, wondering how long had it been standing there. The water was, at least, crystal clear and she could see her reflection in it. A gaunt pale human reflection stared back. She studied her haggard features for a moment, before dipping her hand into the liquid, distorting her own image. Cupping her hand, she splashed some water against her face, and wiping away the last vestiges of her uneasy sleep the night before.

She picked up the towel and patted her face dry, before tossing it aside on her bed. Feeling at least somewhat ready to face the new day, she got up, walked across the room towards the door, and let herself out. It was still early in the morning; she saw not a single soul in sight. Exactly how she liked it. Silently, she made her way towards the main drinking hall, her feet barely making any noise on the wooden floor. To her surprise, Monique was already sitting behind the bar, humming softly to herself as she wiped dozens of mugs placed before her.

Shego cleared her throat to get the Southern woman's attention as she walked up to the bar. Looking up, the dark-skinned woman beamed and greeted her with gusto, "Good morning, Shego. I hope you had a pleasant stay at Monique's."

Shego coughed and grunted as she cleared her throat. "It's definitely better than most hovels I've seen," Shego grudgingly accorded as she sat down on the bar stool facing Monique. Pointing at a pitcher behind Monique, she asked hoarsely, "Water?"

"I will take that as a compliment," Monique smiled as she happily obliged Shego by filling up a mug with water and setting it down in front of Shego.

Shego just nodded her head absent-mindedly as she picked up the mug and sipped slowly to wet her parched throat. Setting it down, she reached for her pouch and asked, "How much for the night?"

"Oh don't worry about it," Monique waved her off, as she resumed wiping the cups with a cloth. "Ron already settled it."

"Ron?" Shego furrowed her brow.

"Uh huh," Monique continued talking, ignorant of the growing discomfort on Shego's face. "You don't owe me a thing."

"Why would he do such a thing?" Shego asked out loud. Perhaps it was a rhetorical question, but her comment did not go unnoticed as Monique looked at her with a knowing smile on her face.

"Hun," Monique leaned over the bar and propped her head on her hand, wearing a bemused smirk on her face. "Sometimes, a man wants to treat a woman right, just as a woman wants a man to treat her right, you know what I mean?"

Shego drew back in surprise before looking at the dark-skinned woman quizzically. Her voice was on the edge as she spoke, "What do you mean?"

"Shego, Shego, Shego…" Monique thrilled conspiratorially as she stood straight up, that bemused smirk still plastered across her face. "Even though I just met you both, I can tell that he has it _bad_ you."

"_Bad_?" Shego coughed violently as she sharply inhaled at the same moment she was taking another sip of water. She banged the bar with her fist as she doubled over, hacking and spluttering, trying to force out the bit of water that had gone the wrong way.

"There, there," Monique quickly ran around the counter and started rubbing Shego's back. "That it easy… Girl, don't tell me you haven't realized yet."

Glaring at the woman with teary eyes, Shego grumbled hotly, "Realize what?"

With a patronizing sigh, Monique eased herself onto the barstool next to Shego and lifted up Shego's chin and studied her face closely. Finally, she spoke with a cryptic smile, "Hun, you may be the most oblivious woman ever, but from what I can tell, Ron likes you. And I am willing to bet the farm on it."

Shego snorted with disbelief as she pulled away. "Why the hell would you think that Ron likes me? Did he say something?"

"No, no…" Monique explained quickly. "Ron hasn't said anything about liking you. But I know him better than he knows himself. After all, I've known him for years. And I am very certain that he likes you, even though he doesn't quite know it yet."

"Hmph," Shego snorted as she downed the last drops of water in her cup. Her curiosity peaked, she asked slowly, "What makes you say that?"

"For one, you have Kim's eyes…" Monique replied mysteriously as she looked searchingly into Shego's lambent green eyes. Monique closed her eyes briefly and turned away before looking at some far corner of the drinking hall. "That… And you both are kindred spirits..."

"Kindred spirits?"

"You both have lost something, and…" Monique's voice trailed off. "And you are looking for it."

"What exactly are we looking for?"

"I don't know," Monique shrugged mysteriously. "Maybe each other."

Shego fell silent as she turned the cup over in her hand, watching closely as the last few drops dripped onto the wooden counter. "I hope you are mistaken then," Shego remarked with a flat tone. "Because I couldn't care less for that Kingsguard." A_nd I'd sooner kill him than let him touch me. _

"That's too bad then," Monique let out a long drawn sigh. "Usually I'm not wrong about these things. But don't count him out yet. Take it from me: I used to know these childhood friends who didn't realize that their perfect partner and soul mate was just standing beside them their whole lives until it was too late."

"Don't bother," Shego remarked snidely. "We are far too _different_ for something like that to ever happen."

"Different is good too," Monique countered. "But if I were you, I would definitely give him a chance. After all, that boy is going to make some girl very happy and you sure look like you could do with some happiness in your life."

"You're crazy," Shego snarkily replied as she reached over the bar to snag the pitcher of water and poured herself another cup. "You just don't get it; I'm more _different_ than you think. And I definitely don't like that _Kingsguard_!"

"Okay, okay," Monique put up her hands in surrender and backed down from the issue. "Maybe I was wrong."

"Maybe you are," Shego remarked coldly.

Monique could only shrug before returning to her job of wiping the rest of the cups while Shego looked on. Despite Shego's insistence, the dark-skinned woman could clearly see that she was in deep thought. She smiled wryly as she hummed a little tune while she worked on.

"Morning, ladies," a cheerful voice interrupted her thoughts. Looking up, Shego saw the blond Kingsguard walk in with a bright smile on his face and a little bounce to his step.

"Morning, Ron," Monique returned the greeting as she glanced over at the raven-haired woman who only grunted to acknowledge his presence. "So are you setting off now?" she asked with a beaming smile on her face.

"Monique," Ron remarked happily, as he returned her smile. "You know I'd love to stay longer, but I really got to get home."

"Just be sure to come and visit next time," Monique reminded him playfully.

"I will," Ron promised. He leaned against the bar counter and looked at Shego for a moment, studying her closely.

"What?" Shego bit out, letting her grouchiness show. She wasn't in the mood to put up with him.

"Umm… I was going to ask you," Ron offered. "Since we're both heading north, do you want… You know, maybe… travel together?"

Shego's eyes flashed for a moment, as she threw a dirty glare in Monique's direction. The dark-skinned woman kept her eyes focused on her task of wiping the cups, but she was clearly overhearing their conversation and wore an ever-annoying I-told-you-so grin on her face that grew larger by the minute.

"I thought, you know," Ron continued, sounding a little unsure of himself. "Maybe it's safer if we travelled together; I could always watch your back. There are many bandits who roam these parts and other people won't be so wary of a lone traveler."

Despite her obvious glowering at the Kingsguard, her logical mind was calculating the benefits of travelling with him. It was true: she had gotten turned away from the village gates last night and if not for him, she would be sleeping in the hedges somewhere. Yet her own feelings railed against the thought of travelling with the enemy. He was a Kingsguard, sworn servant of the kingdom that had waged war on everyone else. His kind had split blood across the plains and stolen countless lives. Yet, her logical part countered that this man was a mere fledgling; he had been too young to fight when the war had ended.

_He still has his uses,_ she conceded. _And in the least, out there, no one can hear him scream._

"Do whatever you want," Shego grimaced as she spoke. "I don't care."

"Right," Ron exhaled in relief. "I'm going to go saddle up Rufus now. Meet you out in front?"

Shego waved him off with her hand, as she returned to her drink. She heard a soft chuckle and shot a nasty look in the direction of the sound.

"I told you he likes you," Monique grinned happily.

"We'll see about that," Shego remarked to herself blithely. "We'll see…"

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Ah hah! It has been updated! Like I have foretold! But wait, isn't there something strange going on? Where's the romance? The sex? The swashbuckling details of the story? This has been a really slow pickup.

Anyway, this is my first time finishing a fic first before posting even a single chapter. Therefore I shall not be swayed by reviews, even if you beg me to have Kim fall from the sky onto Shego's lap, while Bonnie looks at the both of them hungrily... I kinda think it reads better if all in one sitting, because of the way I wrote it, but then again I'm strategizing.

See, a fic would only stay on the front page if it is constantly updated. Assuming that people come to this site once every 3 weeks, on average, (I do it much less), then if I update my fic every 3 days, with a 7-chapter story, then I should be able to maintain the presence of my fic on the front page for 21 days! That would mean I have 100% coverage of all readers! Wow, what an evil genius I am! I wonder if Drakken accepts resumes now. I don't mind taking a paycut just to work alongside Shego's really hot booty. *Evil Rant*


	3. Chapter 3

_In all hindsight, we should have seen the extinction of dragons coming. No one knew of their numbers, and no one knew about the grave threat to these creatures until it was too late. First the sightings decreased, and no one took any notice, just passing a prayer that fire was not going to rain from the sky on their village. Then the dragonhunters came home and hung up their mail and lances and returned to the fields. And finally all that's left is the distant memory of great winged-beasts in the songs and stories of man. _

_The last dragon officially killed was a great green and black-scaled dragon, named Sherainz. She was easily a sixty feet in length, with shimmering dark green scales and breathed a green hellfire from her lips. Born of the same brood as King Hergog, she was equally malicious and cruel in her own way. Laying waste to half a dozen villages in the north, she suddenly disappeared for five years and there were no reported sightings of her. _

_But King Lipsky wasn't to be simply soothed by her disappearance, for he had a long history with Sherainz. When the king finally slew King Hergog, it was Sherainz that came to her dying brother and inflicted a terrible wound on the man. Scarring him across his left eye, she'd left him half blind and mad with rage. Deeming her the successor to King Hergog's impudence, King Lipsky had chased down every last rumor of her sighting and had his mages constantly scrying for her presence. _

_Still she evaded his best efforts, and had gone into hiding with the help of magic, no doubt, but not before laying waste to a great portion of the kingdom. It was only one day in summer many years later, when a lowly Kingsguard requested an audience with King Lipsky, and threw a bloody sack at the foot of the throne. While such impudence would merit a quick trip to the gallows, King Lipsky's eyes grew wide with excitement as he recognized the green and black scales and the bloody heart the size of a man's head. _

_As soon as he had the identity of the heart verified by his mages, he clapped his hands with glee, he crowed over the triumph of his dead nemesis, and ordered a great banquet to be served in the Kingsguard's name. As he proceeded to heap rewards from the royal treasury unto the man, the Kingsguard requested for the oddest reward. He asked that the king cease his mad hunt for dragons anymore. _

_It was an odd request, but one that only an unscrupulous and greedy king like King Lipsky was only too happy to grant but only for less than altruistic reasons. For it had only become clear as the years went by, that there were no longer any more dragons to hunt._

_-Excerpt from The Fall of Dragonkind_

* * *

They bade Monique farewell and left the village of Lowervale behind them, following the trade route north. The sun was already nearing its zenith and they were held back momentarily as Ron had to do a little side shopping for his parents and sister. Despite the delay, Shego was in no hurry to get to her destination and watched with contemptuous amusement as Ron struggled to find a gift for his teenage sister.

Finally they had left the village, walking by the guards who looked at her suspiciously and would have accosted her and searched her bags if not for the figure of authority who was travelling besides her. For the most part, it was an uneventful afternoon as the two of them walked at a decent pace down the road, with Ron leading Rufus by the reins.

The Kingsguard was the first to break the silence, and he asked his travelling companion, "So where are you headed?"

"North," came the one-word reply.

"That's what you said before," Ron pressed on curiously. "But where north? Are we talking about Uppervale?"

"Further north," Shego replied simply.

"Further north?" Ron looked confused. "I don't recall there being a village that far north. Unless you're talking about the mountains, and I know no one lives there because it's covered with blizzards and snow all year round."

Shego grunted in affirmation as she trudged on, regardless of his incessant questions.

Despite shrugging off his questions with her silence, Ron continued, "So if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your family? You said they were dead, right?"

"Just shut up!" Shego snarled as she walked on, her temper quick to flare again. She muttered hotly under her breath, "Kingsguard!"

"Um… If you won't talk to me, then at least tell me why do you hate me or Kingsguards so much?" Ron asked. "You keep giving me this murderous look as though I've done you some great wrong, but lady, I've never even met you in my life before. At least, let me know so I won't make you mad."

Shego gritted her teeth, letting her anger swell and fill her inner self with rage. "That's because you murdered my brothers!" she whirled around and spat at his feet.

"Me?" Ron coughed with disbelief. "Look, I don't even know your brothers, why would I murder them?"

"You, Kingsguards, I don't care, you're all the same to me," Shego remarked angrily. "All you do is listen to that mad king of yours, Drakken, and do his bidding…"

"Wait, wait, slow down," he tried to placate her. "What does any of this have to do with King Drakken?"

"He…" Shego spat out. "He ordered my family to be killed!"

"But why?"

"I don't know," Shego clenched her fists and felt a great urge to punch something or someone nearby. "We just wouldn't fight his dirty wars for him, we refused to help him. My brothers and I just wanted to be left alone, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. So he ordered all of us to be slaughtered like animals… And you Kingsguard," Shego pointed her finger accusingly at Ron. "You just carried out his orders, killing innocents just because your king ordered you to."

"Now wait a minute," Ron tried to interrupt her, flinching subconsciously from her accusing finger. "I've never killed anyone in my life, I've never been in a battle yet, Captain Barkin's always afraid that I'd impale myself on my own sword before I even get a chance to fight."

"That doesn't matter," Shego replied bitterly. "Maybe you weren't there. But you're going to kill someone someday; it's going to be someone's brother, father or son." She found herself drawing her own dagger tucked in her belt. Gripping it tightly in her hands, she readied herself for the lunge, the upward thrusting motion, and gutting the Kingsguard.

"So you're going to kill me now?" Ron asked slowly, his eyes warily glued onto the sharp blade.

"I should have killed you and your kind a long time ago," Shego hissed. "All of you…"

"Can't we talk about this like normal human beings?"

Shego barked in laughter at the irony of his words. "Like normal human beings?" she sneered. "Since when have you ever treated _us_ like normal human beings?"

Ron slowly raised both his hands. "I'm sure we can talk about this…"

"There's nothing left to talk about!"

"So is this how it ends?" Ron asked, bringing his eyes leveled to hers. He swallowed a huge lump down his throat as he dared himself to speak. "You are going to kill me, like the men who killed your brothers... Like a murderer…"

A flash of fear shot through her eyes. She watched him closely, not trusting herself to say another word. Her hands started to tremble.

Seeing the flicker in her eyes, he pressed on, edging closer to her, "So maybe you'll kill me… What happens next? I'm going to be dead in a puddle of blood and you're still going to be yourself… Except that this time you have blood on your hands… Shego… You're a good person, I can tell, so listen to me…"

Shego shook her head, as she struggled to hold the knife leveled with all her strength. She wanted to cry, scream, shout, anything… Anything, but feel like this…

"Shego, put the knife down," Ron said in a firm voice. "You don't want to kill me, I don't want to die. It's a win-win for both of us."

"Stay back!" Shego screamed, as she tried to steady the knife with both hands, raising it to his chest. A quick trust, and putting all her weight behind it, she could easily stab him in the heart; fatal within moments. He was close enough, all she needed to do was to take a step forward, kill the man, like they had killed her brothers… _Her brothers…_

"Shego…" Ron ignored her orders and stepped up right next to her. Gently, he put his hand on hers and closed his fingers. He pushed her trembling hand aside and gently pried the knife from her fingers, before tossing it to the ground. Shego winced as she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for him to strike her.

A pair of strong arms enveloped her, and pulled her into a tight hug. Fingers ran through her hair, stroking her back and he murmured gently soothing whispers into her ear. "It's okay, Shego. I'm sorry about your brothers, I truly am."

"No…" Shego cried as she squirmed against the man, but he only held her tighter. "Let me go…"

"Calm down, Shego," Ron spoke strongly. "Calm down, everything is going to be alright."

"Just… Let me go…" she struggled uselessly, before finally slumping her shoulders her tensed muscles slackening. Her breathing started to slow as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Dammit, dammit," she murmured softly to herself.

"Shego, I know you won't believe me," Ron spoke as he drew away from her. The sudden withdrawal of his warm body made a light shiver run through her body, and she instinctively drew her arms around herself. Despite the fact that she wasn't looking at him, he knew that she was listening, "I lost someone too… So I understand how you feel."

Shego just held herself, and shut her eyes, trying to quell the rebelling emotions run amuck inside of her. Ron took her silence as a sign that he should continue, "Shego, five years ago, my best friend gave her life to save me. And ever since that day, I wanted to wear these colors, the king's colors, to protect the people of this land. Because that's what she believed in. I owe her that much."

"I'm not very good at it," Ron admitted with a shrug. "But I do what I can, even though it's not much."

Shego looked at him through teary eyes, listening to his words. "How did she die?" she finally asked, her voice shaking a little.

"She… Ah… I think I better show you," Ron sighed as he dropped his hands to his side and tugged at the hem of his tunic before pulling it over her head. Before Shego could react in surprise, he turned around and showed his pale back, looking smooth, except for three wide jagged scars that tore across his lower back. She reached out to slowly trace the scarred tissue with her finger tips.

"Dragon."

"Dragon?" Shego winced as her fingers instinctively recoiled back. She looked down at her own hand, and imagined the huge talons raking across his back.

"Uh huh," Ron replied tonelessly as his shoulders drooped. "Five years ago, it was some warm summer night, and I was sleeping in my bedroom when I woke up to people shouting. Before I could get out of bed to see what the fuss was about, the roof of my house got torn off and I was looking at the stars. Then this big green head peered over the wall that must have been the size of a cow at least."

"My parents rushed into my room, and my mom was screaming, and my dad was pulling me out of bed, and the next thing I knew, we were all running barefooted outside my house, just as the dragon breathed fire and burnt down my house," Ron went on slowly. "I was… I couldn't run very fast… And I lost my parents hands, and didn't know where I was. I fell in the middle of the street, twisted my ankle… Then the dragon saw me, alone, in the middle of the road… And I thought that was it… You can't outrun a dragon..."

"What happened next?" Shego asked with bated breath.

"That's when my best friend, Kim, rescued me," Ron smiled wistfully at the memory. "She saw me, and climbed up on the roof of the house next to me and started shouting and throwing stones at the beast. And I was screaming at her to get away, but she just looked at me and told me to run."

"I ran," Ron continued after a long sigh. "Kim was fast; she led the dragon to the edge of Middlevale, buying everyone enough time to get away safely. And it chased her and…" Ron hung his head sadly. "You can't outrun a dragon…"

"Ahem," Shego felt a lump in her throat. "So is that why you're a Kingsguard now, chasing dragons and killing them?"

Ron let out a small laugh, before shaking his head. "Kingsguard trainee, mind you. Sometimes, you're just so mad at the world that you just want to destroy it so that nothing could hurt you like that anymore…" Ron looked at Shego in the eyes. "So yeah, I was young and stupid. The moment I was sixteen, I raced to join the Kingsguard, hoping to kill some dragons."

Shego bristled at his words, a tiny hiss escaping her lips.

"But Captain Barkin kept drilling into me, that fighting without using my head would get me killed, that I would lose my life if I was so driven on vengeance," Ron replied softly. "And one day, after a terrible beating by Captain Barkin for losing my temper, I had a dream about Kim. She came to me, not a year older than when I last saw her… And she asked me to give up my vengeance, and help people instead..."

"In a dream?"

"Yeah," Ron laughed sheepishly. "It was a dream, crazy, huh? But somehow, I've always felt that if she was alive today, that would be exactly what she would tell me to do…"

"You seem to miss her a lot," Shego commented dryly.

"Yeah, more than you could ever imagine," Ron tried to smile but his lips trembled a little as tears form in his eyes. "Each and every single day."

"What was she like? Kim, I mean?"

"She…" Ron stopped as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to picture his best friend, "In a single word? Beautiful."

"I'm sure she is," Shego tried her best not to smile.

Ron continued on, "Always with that bright charming smile, she'd always laugh with that carefree laugh of hers as we chased each other through the fields, with her long red hair flowing in the wind. And she had the greenest eyes I have ever seen. It's hard to describe, it's just that they looked…"

"Like mine?" Shego suddenly interrupted, as a sliver of conversation between her and Monique echoed in her head. _Eyes like Kim's…_

Ron cocked his head to the side and took a step closer to her, and suddenly Shego felt a little tremble run through her body as she realized how tall the blond Kingsguard actually was when he stood next to her. She cast her eyes upwards to look at his, and for a moment there, their gazes were locked and everything around her ceased to be. He smiled at first, and then he took a step back.

"Uh huh, Shego," Ron suddenly looked away. "She had eyes like yours."

Shego suddenly realized that she had been holding her breath, and she finally exhaled as discreetly as she could, ignoring the burning in her lungs. "So," Shego bit her lip as she slowly chewed on her next question. "Did you love her?"

"Of course, I did," Ron retorted. "She was my best friend!"

"I meant," Shego took a deep breath first. "Did you _love_ her?"

"We were only sixteen…" The denial died on his lips. Ron looked at Rufus sadly, who had also abandoned his meal of fresh grass and watched Ron with much curiosity. "Yeah," he sighed softly. "I loved her. Even though we were young, I knew she was the one I was going to marry someday. Somehow, I just knew it. I just couldn't imagine my life without her."

"She must be some really special for you to feel that way about her."

"You could say that."

"So… What happened to your desire to kill all dragons?" Shego asked tentatively.

"I realized that Kim wouldn't like that very much," Ron replied, while giving Shego a smirk. "After all, it would be like blaming all Kingsguards for the death of someone's brothers."

Shego growled softly as she felt her muscles start to tense again.

"Shego, it's okay," Ron placed both his hands on her shoulders. "I know it's a bit hard, and you're just looking for someone to blame. But I'm a Kingsguard, and you wouldn't want to kill me, right? After all, I've done nothing but help you lots…"

"Which is why you're still alive," Shego growled quietly.

"But you can't go around looking for revenge," Ron replied. "I'm sure your brothers just want you to be safe and live a long and happy life."

"Let me ask you a question, Kingsguard," Shego muttered crossly. "If that dragon who killed your best friend were to show up right here, in front of you today, would you kill it?"

"I… I guess I would," Ron finally admitted.

"Then I believe we understand each other perfectly," Shego muttered as she turned away.

* * *

It was almost nightfall when the two travelers thought it would be wiser to set up camp. Traveling on the road at night was more dangerous as they were exposed to ambushes, animal attacks or even a well-laid trap on the road. Then again there's always the possibility of falling into a shallow pothole, and twisting an ankle. It was already too dark to see more than a few feet ahead, and Ron and Shego decided that it would be better if they were well rested for the next day.

"I'll get the fire started," Shego quietly acquiesced as she bent over and picked up a piece of deadwood. "Just find us something to eat."

"Alright," Ron nodded, as he tethered Rufus on a low hanging tree branch. "Can you handle this?"

"It's only starting a fire," Shego rolled her eyes.

"Okay then," Ron said, before he slipped off into the undergrowth.

She watched the Kingsguard leave, before setting herself about gathering firewood near the tree line. There were plenty of dead branches, and she had gathered enough wood to keep the fire going for a few hours. She stacked the firewood up and stuffed some dry leaves as kindling under it. Then, suddenly she jerked her head up and looked around making sure that not a soul was in sight, especially the Kingsguard.

She leaned over, and took a deep breath. Then she slowly blew, and a stream of emerald green fire escaped between her lips and licked the wood. Soon, the fire started roaring, and the wood started burning with an orange-red flame. Satisfied with her work, she leaned back, with her arms on the ground, and watched as the wood crackled and the flames danced.

Shego looked around, before suddenly realizing that Rufus was watching her the whole time. Although he was just a horse, Shego had an uneasily feeling that Rufus knew exactly what she just did and exactly who she was. Looking crossly at the horse, she growled softly, "Don't tell a single soul…"

Shego caught herself before she said anything more. _This is ridiculous,_ she thought. Now she's talking to a horse. Ron's weird habits were affecting her in more ways than one, and now she's talking to his horse like Ron always did? But it… He, she mentally corrected herself, was still looking at her.

Grinding her teeth, she got to her feet and reached over to Rufus's saddle pack where Ron always kept Rufus's special treats. She found a lump of soft cheese at the very bottom and took it out, offering it to Rufus who looked at the pale yellow treat with greed and desire. "Now, Rufus," Shego growled softly as she patted Rufus's head. "Forget what you saw just now…" _Like a damn horse could ever talk…_

With a sigh, she offered Rufus the piece of cheese and watched as the horse happily chewed on it, and nuzzled his head against her. "Alright," she relented, as she reached up and scratched Rufus's head behind the ears like she has seen Ron done so many times. "Fine, you affectionate little fleabag. But this would be our little secret."

Shego plopped herself down next to the fire, and gave Rufus a dirty look. The mottled-brown horse returned her long stare, before returning to his grazing on the grass. Shego kept her hands on her knees and stared directly at the flame as it danced and wavered in the wind.

She drew out a long sigh and flopped back on her back, looking up at the stars in the sky. Their twinkling seems so distant, and she reached her hand out as though she could pick a star out of the sky, only to turn her palm over to reveal an empty hand. And the star remained twinkling in the sky, never having moved from where it was.

"Shego! Run!" a frantic scream was heard, as something large and heavy ran through the undergrowth.

Shego rolled over into crouch position, and glanced in the direction of the voice, just in time to see Ron scampering through the bushes with a black shadow about the size of a pony crashed through behind him.

"Wild boar!" Ron yelped as he ducked around a tree and raced towards Shego.

Instantly, Shego grabbed a flaming branch from the campfire, and stepped into the path of Ron, waving the weapon in her hand dangerously. The blond Kingsguard yelped and ducked behind Shego, nervously placing his hands on her shoulders as he used her body as cover. "My hero…" Shego remarked dryly, as she kept her eyes fixed on the wild boar charging towards her.

Just as the boar was upon them, Shego thrust the flaming branch forward, causing the boar to flinch to the side as it reeled away from the flame. It was enough as she followed through with her lunge, and with a flash of steel, struck the boar with an upward swing, stabbing the two-hundred pound brute in the soft spot between the head and shoulders. The animal let out a piercing shriek in pain as it writhed on the ground before getting to its feet and giving Shego a murderous look, even with the handle of Shego's knife still sticking out of its body. Maddened with pain, it rushed again towards Shego recklessly.

She only managed to roll out of the way, as the brute's tusks almost gored her. And just as she was lying on her back, the boar charged again. And as she watched the animal race towards her, she took a deep breath and tried to call on her strength within her to…

Someone screamed as Ron leaped forward with his sword held with two hands, and throwing his entire body weight behind it, impaled the boar through its side. The momentum of his run caused the two bodies to slam into the ground and roll together in a tangle of limbs. Shego quickly got to her feet, and pressed her knee against the side of the winded boar, and pulled out her dagger. Without hesitation, she pushed down the head of the struggling animal with her hand and in one fluid motion, slit its throat, spilling its crimson blood all over the forest floor.

A groan of pain distracted her, and she looked over at the blond Kingsguard who was lying in a heap right next to the boar. His sword was still stuck into the boar's side, where Ron had impaled it on its tip. From the amount of annoying groaning and moaning that he was making, Shego felt a little disappointed that he was still alright. She wiped her knife on the grass and tucked in back into her belt before walking over to the Kingsguard.

"That was stupid of you," Shego remarked dryly as she extended a hand to the Kingsguard. "Why did you disturb a boar? It could have killed you."

"Heh… Heh…" Ron breathed heavily as he grabbed Shego's hand and pulled himself up. "I swear, it wasn't my fault… I was just gathering some fruits and nuts and then this beast just charged at me…"

"Right…" Shego rolled her eyes. "Boars don't simply attack people."

"This one does!"

"You must have done something to it!"

"Maybe it just doesn't like me…"

"That makes two of us," Shego mumbled under her breath. "What are you doing?"

Ron had knelt down besides the boar, and pulled out his own knife. "You said find something to eat, and I found something to eat," Ron remarked with gusto. "After all, it's a waste to leave all this meat out here. Plus if we leave it out here, it will attract more predators in the middle of the night."

Shego nodded slowly, and returned to the warmth of the fireside where she watched Ron carefully skinned the tough bristles off the boar, and cut away large chunks of meat. It took Ron the larger part of an hour as he finally cut out most of the meat from the boar, and buried the rest of the carcass. As he placed the meat on a dry cloth by the fire, he went over to Rufus and rummaged around and let out a whoop of triumph as he pulled out a large round cylindrical container.

"What's that?" Shego asked curiously.

"Western spice mix," Ron grinned happily as he shook the container, before twisting the top open and inhaling the sweet fragrance.

"You carry spices around with you?" Shego asked incredulously.

"Mom always wants me to bring some back whenever I go home," Ron replied with a shrug. "I think she gives it to all her neighbors, but since we have it here, we might as well make some spiced boar."

"Right," Shego sat back and as Ron slathered a generous quantity of spices on the meat. Then he returned to Rufus and pulled out a round metal object from the saddle pack. "A saucepan?" Shego looked strangely at the man.

"I've never left home without it," Ron declared proudly. "You never know when you'll need it. Helps to beat off wild dogs too."

"I don't want to know," Shego remarked with considerable disinterest. Shego tilted her head to the side and watched as Ron started frying strips of wild boar. Soon, the sweet scent of juicy meat wafted through the campsite.

Ron gingerly picked up a steaming hot piece off the saucepan, and gingerly popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly. "Stringy," Ron commented as he chewed away. "Must be an old boar. Definitely needs marinating."

"At least, it's edible," Shego remarked, as she realized that the wafting smell of spiced meat was starting to make her salivate.

"Here, try some," Ron stabbed a chunk of meat with his knife and offered it to her. Cautiously, Shego reached out and wrapped her fingers around the handle, brushing softly against Ron's hand. She plucked the knife out of his fingers, and slowly brought it to her nose and took a slight sniff at the meat. The tingly smell tickled her nose, but she could also smell the juicy fat oozing out of the fibrous tissue, with still a hint of blood.

_Not too cooked, not too raw…_ Just how she liked it. She popped the whole piece into her mouth and savored the taste as the juices ran down her throat. And within an instant, it was gone. Her lips smacking hungrily, as she sought to savor the last sliver of boar fat on her lips. Her eyes flicked open and she quickly zoomed in on the sizzling pan of meat. With a feral growl, she ordered, "Hand the rest over now, Kingsguard."

Ron chuckled softly. _With an idiotic grin on his face._ Shego scowled as she turned her head aside, hoping that he couldn't see her face in the dark.

"It's good, isn't it?" Ron asked lightly, as he dropped the rest of the meat into a wooden bowl and offered it to her.

"Hmph," Shego grunted as she took the food and started eating gingerly with her fingers. _Anything probably tastes this good if you haven't anything decent to eat in days. _She reasoned to herself.

* * *

Having her fill of some of the best spiced boar she would ever admit to having, Shego laid back on the grass and resumed staring at the night sky with the infinitum of stars above her. The cool night breeze gently brushed over her, giving a refreshing sweet scent of dew gathering in the night. The fire crackled by her side, occasionally spitting violently as it gave off a warm glow. It was peaceful, like back in the days when she still had…

"Whatcha thinking?"

That annoyingly voice shattered her tranquil thoughts and that rising bile of fury was reaching up to her throat. Grunting in annoyance, she just turned on her side with her back facing him and curled up, hoping that at least he could take the hint and shut up. She didn't want to get up and eviscerate him; that would just ruin her happy mood tonight after having a full meal in weeks.

"I just love nights like these," Ron's voice went on cheerily, ignorant of the grinding of fangs of his travel companion. "It's like I'm staring up into the heavens, and every single star up there is an angel carrying a candle for each one of us." Ron breathed a small sigh of content. "Sometimes, it just feels like I'm falling into the darkness, you know what I'm talking about? I mean, here I am, and it's just so great out there. Makes you feel really small sometimes, which is a good thing, I think, because that would mean that my problems are really, really, _really_ small when there's this whole universe out there that goes on moving regardless…"

Shego felt drawn back to the blackness of the sky as she rolled onto her back. She focused on each twinkle in the sky, wondering…

"I mean, see that star over there," Ron pointed his finger straight up into the darkness. Shego found herself following his finger towards the brightest star in the night sky. "It just goes on shining no matter what, even if it's raining or snowing here. It's always up there if you know where to look. It kinda reminds me of home, that no matter where I am, I can always see this star, and I'm never far. I mean, that's what I see. What about you?"

"Family…" a word escaped her lips.

"What?"

"Up north… There… There is a belief…" Shego began softly, as she kept her eyes fixated on the star. "Among dr-… Us… That if someone has lived a good life, his soul would ascend to the heavens and become a star to guide the living. And when times are hardest…" Her voice trembled, "And when times are hardest… Our loved ones up there would shine the brightest to show us the way… To remind us that we are never alone…"

"That's deep…" Ron replied as he stared solemnly at the sky. "Not alone, huh? So you think somewhere up there, Kim's probably shining her brightest for me?"

"Forget I said anything, it's just a stupid story for people to feel better about themselves," Shego grunted as she suddenly sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and stared at the fire. She chided herself for talking about that… _A story her mother once told her. Childhood fantasies, nothing more, a comforting tale just to help the living grieve over the dead… _

A thick blanket was draped over her shoulder. She looked up in surprise to see Ron sitting down next to her. "What are you doing?" Shego asked crossly, as she inched away from him.

"Nothing, just thought you needed a little company," Ron just shrugged as he poked the fire with a stick. "I just… You know… I know you lost your family a long time ago, but you still have people who care about you, right?"

"Do you see me travelling with anyone?" Shego remarked dryly.

"You have me," Ron declared proudly, with that ever annoying grin.

"Not by choice," she mumbled to herself.

"You know what I think?" Ron asked, her passing comment obviously lost in the wind.

Shego silently mouthed to herself, _No! I don't care!_

Unwittingly, he continued, "Family is just people you are really close to and feel comfortable around. Take a look at Rufus here." Ron gestured at the lightly dozing horse who had already settled down for the night. "He's practically part of the family. I could never imagine my family without Rufus here."

"A horse? Part of your family?" Shego declared derisively. She glanced over at the sleeping animal.

"Say what you will," Ron retorted. "But Rufus and I get each other. I could always count on him anytime I need help, or when I need someone to talk to. Just goes to show that you don't need to be related to be part of the family. I mean, why does it just have to be with people who share your blood? Anyone can be family. Even you…"

"Me?" Shego barked in laughter. "How can you call a stranger you've just met on the road family? You barely even know anything about me."

"Hey, I know one thing. You saved my life today," Ron pointed out. "And in my books, that makes you as good as family."

She searched for a snarky remark, something to push him away. Yet there was just something about his honesty and his willingness to accept people… "Yeah, whatever you want," she mumbled to herself. "I'm just too tired to argue with you." She drew her eyes up to the night sky and clutched the warm blanket a little tighter around herself.

Finally settling into a comfortable silence, Ron sat by her side and joined her at staring at the stars. Suddenly, he felt a slight bump against his shoulder. Looking to his left, he found a silky head of black hair gently resting against his shoulder, with soft gentle snoring emanating from the woman.

"Shego?" he whispered nervously to her.

"Shut up…" she slurred as she yawned. "Just let me borrow your shoulder and sleep…"

Ron watched in amazement as she dozed off against him. Trying his best not to move, Ron turned his head to watch the sleeping woman. A small smile grace his lips as he could see her hard features melt away in her dreams and revealed a softer and kinder face. He gently tilted his head and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head, "Good night, Shego…"

* * *

**Author's Notes**

And can you feel the love tonight... It is where we are... It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer... That we got this far... Right... Whatever, Hakuna Matata, and that wasn't Pumbaa... Besides, that's probably what happened in the REAL Lion King anyway. Seriously, why eat bugs when there's a fat juicy porker nearby?

Note the subtle reference to Dragonheart. I loved that cheesy B-grade movie. Yes, despite the voicing of Sean Connery, that's what I think it is. Okay, fine, I'm abusing these ANs enough for my strange random rants.


	4. Chapter 4

_All dragons are able to perform magic, from the most basic fire-breathing spell to the divine ability to foretell the future. While stories tell of how these magnificent creatures are directly linked to the powers of gods themselves, it is interesting to note that only a handful of human beings wield these mystical powers and none even able to match the magical strength of a fledgling dragon. It is as if magic courses through the very veins of these creatures themselves from the moment of birth. _

_I have often wondered why so few humans are able to perform magic. Why is it that some are blessed with the gift, from non-magical parentage, while magicians rarely beget magicians? Is it some rare and random occurrence? _

_I believe I have found an explanation when I arrived at the Guild of the Magi last week. It has never struck me, but I've noticed that all magicians are of the same spry and build; their features almost thin, angular and bony. And they outlive most humans. _

_Maybe I dare not suggest it, but could it be that these magicians are the progeny between man and dragon? _

_It is blasphemous to think so, that suggest that this group of people were the product of inter-species breeding. But I cannot be helped by struck by the coincidence that magicians seem to draw upon the same source of powers as dragons, and the mightiest are able to replicate the great magic of dragons. _

_But at the end of the day, there is something more chilling that can be inferred from this: that maybe, there are dragons disguised as humans, walking around us today._

_Excerpt from the Diaries of Scribe Load_

* * *

She nuzzled her cheek against her warm pillow and let out a little purr of contentment. She had a dreamless slumber; the nightmares haven't returned to torment her again. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever rested this good. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her pillow closer to herself and gave it a tight squeeze, only to her surprise, it rumbled with a guttural "Oof!"

Sitting up in surprise, she rubbed her eyes in the early dawning sun and glanced down at her 'pillow' which happened to be one blond scruffy-looking Kingsguard, who was still sleeping soundly on a patch of flattened grass. "Feh!" she leapt to her feet and spat frantically on the ground, strong feelings of repulsion quickly welling up in her stomach.

The blond Kingsguard, still oblivious to her glowering at him, smacked his lips in his sleep and turned onto his side to resume his fitful slumber. His calm sleeping face was beginning to make her furious, as she caught herself from staring too hard at his sleeping body. With a growl, she lifted her left foot and brought it squarely down on his outstretched hand, making sure to grind her heel into the bone to get that desired high-pitched scream that echoed through the forest.

Sitting up, Ron nursed his injured left hand, looking at her through tear-filled eyes. "What has that for?" Ron whined, as he gingerly flexed his fingers to see that it was still working.

"You cheap bastard!" Shego swore under her breath. "You groped me in my sleep…"

"Woah now… Hey… Now before we simply go around and accusing anyone of any groping," Ron jumped to his feet as he spoke hurriedly. "It was you who fell asleep on my shoulder first, okay? I would just like to state for the record that I was taken advantage of, and I have this drool patch on my shoulder to prove it…"

"Feh!" Shego spat on the ground again as her face started burning red with anger… _Or is it embarrassment?_ She did remember nodding off in her sleep, but… "Who in their right mind would want to take advantage of a scrawny little runt like you?"

Ron squinted at her with an odd look on his face, before he drew up and stretched out his body with a loud annoying yawn. "Since I assume you're quite in the right mind… I'd say you did take advantage of me. Now I know the Ron-man is desirable among the ladies but…"

Shego had never felt something as satisfying as her knuckles impacting the bottom of a Kingsguard's jaw with a loud cracking sound that made him fly backwards a good half a dozen feet. "There…" Shego declared haughtily. "Now we're even."

"What?" Ron raged in protest, as he rubbed his throbbing jaw that felt a little looser. "How is that even? I didn't do anything! You still owe me for using my shoulder as a pillow! Any lesser man would have felt you up there and then, but I will not disgrace the House of Stoppable like that! And this is how you repay me for protecting your honor?"

"Just shut up and go make breakfast. My honor doesn't need protecting from the likes of you," Shego ordered grumpily as she squatted down next to the remains of last night's fire and poked the dying ambers with a stick.

Startled by her sudden change in demeanor, Ron took a step back. Blinking twice, he regained his composure and tried to summon up the remaining dredges of his male bravado, "F-… Fine… But this isn't over yet, you hear me?" Spinning on his heels, Ron walked off into the undergrowth to forage for some food.

With a sigh, Shego dropped the stick and buried her face in her hands. "Dammit," she mumbled softly to herself. Looking up, she saw Rufus had been watching her intently the whole time. Snorting in contempt, she glared back until the horse backed down and returned to his grazing. She felt a little bitter stab at her heart as the mottled-brown horse turned away from her.

Poking at the ashes again, she mumbled to herself, "All alone again, huh?"

* * *

As the two traveled down the beaten road together, Shego let herself drift back a couple of paces out of instinct. She'd learnt never to expose her back to an enemy. Not especially one like the Kingsguard travelling like her. Even though he posed no discernible threat to her, he did make her feel vulnerable more than once. She reasoned it would be wise to keep him under close watch all the time. But her eyes lingered on the back of his blond head for a second too long and she almost wrenched her ankle off as she stepped into a rut on the road.

"Fuck!" she hissed as she hopped on one foot. She squeezed her eyes tight, trying to mentally shut the pain out. It was unbecoming of her…

"You okay?" Ron asked as he suddenly put an arm around her, trying to steady her body. Shego's back stiffened up for a moment as she felt the warmth of his body against hers.

"Stubbed my toe," Shego muttered bitterly as she twisted away from her.

"Let me take a look." His tone sounded strange, it came out more like a command than a request. Numbly, Shego nodded as she rested one hand against Rufus while she proffered the injured foot to Ron.

Shego watched him carefully as he knelt in front of her. He gently pried the boot off her foot and gently massaged her ankle. She let out a hiss of pain as he prodded a particularly painful spot. "Dammit, that hurts," she growled.

"It's okay, just a minor sprain," Ron replied. "You can walk, but I don't think you should put your weight on it for a while."

"I'll be fine," Shego cursed her bad luck as she leaned down and snatched her boot off the ground. Her face contorted in pain as she tried to slip her foot back into the tight boot. Suddenly, she felt herself falling on her back and…

"Hey," Ron's face suddenly obscured her view. "Now what kind of knight would I be if I didn't help a fair maiden in distress." His grin was infuriating, as Shego realized that he'd suddenly lifted her in his arms like she was no more than a newborn baby.

"Dammit, let me down!" Shego cursed as she tried to twist out of his arms.

"Now, now…" Ron tut-tutted her. "You can ride Rufus all the way to Middlevale. There's no point trying to force yourself, is there?"

Shego harrumphed in futility as she let Ron set her on Rufus's back, sitting side-saddle like one of those noble ladies. "Give me back my boot," she growled at the Kingsguard.

"No," Ron replied as he picked up the fallen boot and tucked it protectively under his arm. "Just call this insurance, will ya?" He gave her a knowing look. "If I give this back to you, you'd be tempted to put it back on and hobble your way to Middlevale, and I can't let you do that in good conscience."

"Give it back!" she tried again through gritted teeth.

Ignoring her demands, Ron grabbed the reins of Rufus with his free hand and continued walking. Shego seethed in anger as she glared daggers into the back of his flaxen-haired skull. He'd made her suffer the indignity of treating her like a helpless maiden, kidnapped her shoe and held her in his arms… She shuddered at the thought of his body pressed closed against hers. Like this morning when she had woken up to feel his firm chest under her, listening to the gentle rise and fall of his breathing and the strong heartbeat that echoed hers…

She quickly dispelled that thought from her head. She had better things to do than think about that. Once they got to Middlevale, she would be free to slip away and disappear into the northern mountains.

* * *

It was almost midday when the gates of Middlevale finally came into sight. It took all his restraint to not throw down his pack and rush towards the gate, but even so, his excitement burst through. Shego just watched the Kingsguard with mild amusement as she gingerly dismounted from Rufus. She'd manage to get Ron to give her boot back after promising not to walk until they got to Middlevale, but it was about time she wanted to stretch her legs. She gingerly tested her ankle and was particularly pleased that there was nothing more than a dull throb.

"We're here!" Ron yelped enthusiastically as he laughed. "Home at last!"

"For you," Shego snidely remarked as she surveyed the patchwork wooden wall that served to protect the village. It seemed more like token resistance to her, as she could clearly see the wall sway when a strong gust of wind blew past. With a derisive snort, she ignored Ron's jubilant cries and walked on steadily. Still, a part of her thought whimsically, it would be good to sleep with a roof over her head again. After camping out last night in the forest… She quickly shook that memory from her mind.

"C'mon, Shego. Let me show you around before we head over to my place," Ron interrupted her thoughts gleefully as he tugged at Rufus's reins.

"Oh joy. How long would this take? Five minutes? It just looks like any other village I've been to," Shego commented disdainfully. The low wooden huts huddled together, and she could already see the other end of the village from where she stood at the entrance of the gate.

"Oh… But Middlevale is so much more than just the large bustle of taverns and marketplaces that we have in Go City. For one, Middlevalians are very nice people. Everyone's a neighbor, and we practically know each other. It's like one huge family here," Ron espoused happily despite the clear disinterest in Shego's eyes. "Let me introduce you to some of the friendliest people in the world…"

"Hold it right there!" a shrill voice pierced through air.

Shego looked up at the authoritative voice, and her eyes immediately narrowed. A tall domineering tanned woman with brown hair draped over her shoulders pointed her finger accusingly in her direction, with a nasty look on her face. With a dry voice, she asked Ron in a sarcastic whisper "Is this one of those friendly people that you're talking about?"

"Ah… I… Heh…" Ron mumbled sheepishly, as he tried his best not to look at the woman bearing down quickly upon them with huge strides. "Well, _most_ people in Middlevale are friendly," he quickly corrected. "That tall gorgeous woman stalking towards us right now is none other than the daughter of the mayor of Middlevale, the one and only, Bonnie Rockwaller."

_Tall? Gorgeous?_ The nape of her neck prickled with ire as Shego quickly sized the other woman up. She looked about the same age as Ron, dressed in a clean white dress that was sufficiently modest enough that it ended above her knee, but looked two sizes too small that her bosom was almost bursting forth from her neckline. _A bit too risqué for a farmer's daughter, eh?_

"I was wondering what that foul stench was," Bonnie sniffed the air condescendingly as she gave Ron a cold look. "Looks like a rat finally crawled back home…"

"See… That means she's happy to see me," Ron whispered with a grin as he poked Shego's shoulder. "We actually go a long way back…"

"Please, why the hell would I associate myself with someone like you?" Bonnie scoffed loudly as she marched up to Ron. She sniffed disdainfully and her face screwed up with disgust, "When was the last time you took a bath?"

"Aww…" Ron cooed with his ever-infectious grin on his face. "I missed you too, c'mon here and give me a hug…"

Bonnie gave him a cold, blank stare. "Just shut up," Bonnie growled. Her voice suddenly lost its edge, as she leaned in and whispered conspiratorially to Ron. "So where is it?"

"Bon-bo-…"

"Don't call me by that ridiculous nickname! So did you bring it or not?"

Ron returned a conspiratorial grin and jerked his head towards Rufus's saddlepacks. "Did you expect anything less from me?"

"No, but you had promised me that you'd deliver…" Bonnie crossed her eyes.

Ron gave a wide grin, before opening one of Rufus' saddle pack and pulled out a square package wrapped heavily in brown paper. "Ask and ye shall be delivered…"

Before he could say another word, the package was snatched out of his hand and clutched tightly against the brunette's bosom. She hissed in a low voice, "Now, if you _ever_ speak a word about this…"

"… I will suffer the pain, suffering, humiliation and death by a thousand cuts of the whip," Ron stood ramrod straight and held his hand as though uttering an oath. "Yes, yes, I know the drill… I won't breathe a word to a soul."

"You better," a thin hiss escaped her lips. Her eyes narrowed as she realized that there was a pale-skinned woman who was watching, but more importantly _listening_ to their entire conversation. The brunette quickly snatched away the package and held it behind her. With pursed lips, Bonnie asked accusingly, "Who are you?"

_Friendly_. Shego wondered what it would feel like to tear out those doe-brown eyes and crush them under her heel. "Shego," she introduced herself stiffly.

"Hmph," Bonnie studied her closely, before her eyes tilted downwards and focused on Shego's own rather bountiful womanly assets. Her own fingers clutched the brown package tighter against her own chest. "Charming," Bonnie offered disdainfully, "I suppose it would be nice to meet your acquaintance."

"Likewise," Shego drawled coldly.

"Whatever," Bonnie turned away. "I don't suppose your type stays long anyway…" she remarked snidely.

"Anyway… Girls…" Ron hurriedly stepped in between the two before a huge catfight could erupt. "I'll just show Shego around the rest of town while you go and enjoy your…" A quick glare from Bonnie quickly shut him up.

"Just don't forget the next one, Stoppable…" Bonnie growled in a low voice, while she kept her eyes focused on Shego. With a dignified "Hmph!" she spun on her heels and quickly hurried home with that precious brown package clutched tightly against her body.

"If that's friendly, then I rather sleep in a viper's nest…" Shego spat on the ground, trying to get rid of the bad taste in her mouth.

"Now, now... Bonnie does have her good points," Ron pointed out.

"You mean those voluptuous breasts she got hanging in your face the whole time?"

"Err… Haha…" Ron rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Really? I didn't notice."

"If you looked any closer, you would have fallen into her cleavage already," Shego snorted with disgust.

"Hey, now… I am a gentleman, okay?" Ron puffed up. "I wouldn't…"

"Just keep your hands to yourself," Shego warned him. "I haven't forgotten about this morning."

"If you want to bring that up, I have a lot to say on that topic…" Ron started in protest. "First of all, although you slept first, you already had your arms tightly wrapped around me…"

"Shut up!" Shego snarled as she punched him hard on the shoulder. "If you _ever_ bring that up again, I will…"

"Alright, alright," Ron gave up arguing.

Shego looked over at the distant where Bonnie had disappeared to. Turning to Ron, she asked, "So, what did you give her?"

"Some cheap romance novel written by these two scribes, Scribe Mills and Scribe Boon…" Ron grinned with a slight shrug. "Really sappy stories for the hopeless romantic. Not that it will actually kill Bonnie if people actually knew that she had a _soft_ side. It's actually an entire series that comes out monthly, so she had me smuggle in the latest copy so that she wouldn't have to suffer the indignity of going all the way down to Lowervale to buy a copy herself in public."

Shego raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't that a secret that you were supposed to keep?"

"Uh… Heh…" Ron turned slightly red. "I think I can trust you. I mean… To keep a secret. Of course you wouldn't tell anyone else, right?"

Shego smirked at the question. Without a word, she continued walking, leaving Ron to shake a bit first. _Tormenting him would be so fun…_

"Ron! You dog! When did you get back in town?" a rough male voice called out cheerfully.

Ron spun around in the direction of the voice and whooped with joy as his eyes came upon his childhood friend. "Felix!" Ron yelled as he dashed up and gave his brown-haired friend a big hug. "How's it going? Slain any zombies lately?" Shego glanced at the person who had just arrived on scene. A handsome young man, about Ron's age seemed to appear out from an alley on a pair of crutches. Despite his crippled left leg, the brown-haired man moved with surprising ease and opened his arms to receive his friend with a cheerful smile on his face.

"Oh, you know how it goes," Felix laughs as he returned the hug. "Those undead don't stand a chance against me." He beat his own chest just to make a point. After sharing a laugh, Felix's brown eyes fell upon Shego and instantly, his demeanor changed. "Well, Ron… You sneaky dog… You never told me you were bringing someone home! She's hot! No wait, I take that back. She's absolutely _ravishing_!"

"Ah… Haha…" Ron grinned sheepishly as he held out his arm and gestured towards Shego. "She's not who you think…" When he saw the skeptical look on Felix's face, he sighed and gave up on whatever explanation he had on his lips. "Fine, you can ask her yourself… Felix, meet Shego. Shego, Felix."

"Shego," Felix's voice instantly dropped a tone lower, putting on a faux suave croon to his voice, causing Shego to raise her eyebrow skeptically. He offered her a handshake. "It is my _honor_, to meet a lady as beautiful as you."

Shego cocked her head to the side and pondered a little, wondering if there was a trace of sarcasm in it. She glanced suspiciously at his hand before taking a second look at Felix's beaming face. _Another village idiot, _she finally decided as she tentatively accepted his handshake. "Thank you," she mumbled anyway.

"Man, Ron, you are one lucky son of a-…" Felix shook his head with a smile. "The more I look at her, the more beautiful she looks. So when's the wedding?"

"Ah… Wait a minute, Felix…" Ron tried to interrupt hurriedly.

Shego glanced down at his crutches for a moment, and pondered whether she had any qualms about beating up a cripple. She cleared her throat harshly as she glared menacingly at him, "Listen here, _Felix…_ There's absolutely nothing between this guy and me, okay? Got that clear?"

"Oh," Felix was a little taken aback. "That makes things even more interesting," he winked at her. "So, Shego… Are you spoken for?"

"Spoken for?" her voice was quickly changing back to its feral-like quality.

"You know," Felix grinned. "Betrothed, engaged, entered into a social contract for the purpose of bringing up a family…"

"I know what betrothed means," Shego snapped. "I just didn't know that you villagers were so meddlesome in other people's personal affairs."

"Aww… C'mon," Felix laughed as he slapped Shego's back in a friendly manner, much to her annoyance. "It's just that we care. Who knows, I may have a few friends you might be interested in…"

"Not interested at all," Shego remarked drily.

"You mean you're not interested in Ron here?" Felix asked incredulously as he takes a step back and looked at his blond friend. "He's like the local hero around here! The most eligible bachelor that Middlevale has to offer!"

"That's not saying much," Shego snidely coughed to the side.

"Shego, Shego… You don't know what a prize you have just hooked…" Felix sighed in an exaggerated manner as he shook his head. "See, when he was ten, he walked through the snow for eight hours to Lowervale to get medicine for a contagion outbreak to save seventeen people," Felix announced proudly as he looked at his friend. "And when he was fourteen, he single-handedly fought off a pack of wolves preying on the flocks of sheep around here. Then the next year, he chased off a bear and rescued a child by himself. Why, even last year, when he was back here on one of his visits, he rescued Farmer Hobbs and his wife when their farmhouse caught fire, and he spent a good week helping them rebuild their home… Listen here, Ron's here pretty much the catch of the century and you can't find anyone as dependable and honorable as…"

"Felix!" Ron coughed again, just to stop his friend from running his mouth off. He nervously glanced at Shego before turning his bright-red face away, "I'm sure Shego doesn't want to hear any of that…"

"Being modest, eh, Ron?" Felix broke out with a wide grin. "Say no more… I'm sure she would have noticed your charms by now…"

"Felix!"

"Alright, alright," Felix held up his hands in surrender. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding… So where are you guys headed now?"

"I…" Ron looked over at Shego for a moment before glancing back at Felix. "We'd probably stop by at the orphanage before heading to my place."

"Ah the orphanage…" Felix exclaimed with delight. "My favorite place in the world… There's nothing better than Mrs. Possible's meatloaf…"

"Mrs. Possible?" Shego asked curiously.

"She runs the orphanage," Felix explained as he sidled up close to the raven-haired woman. Too close. "Why don't you let me show you around instead? Ron's hardly been around and I know these parts way better than Ron…"

"You just want some of Mrs. P's meatloaf…" Ron pointed out.

"Ah, that too…" Felix grinned. "But you have to admit it is to die for…"

Shego looked over at Ron who just shrugged nonchalantly. With a tired sigh, she allowed herself to be dragged by the man with crutches towards the northern side of the village. Felix had instantly chattered on about the history of Middlevale, the Rockwallers being the first ones to settle there as a trading route between the mountain tribes of the north and the wealthier cities of the south. Middlevale is pretty much the second last stop in the northern trade route, where the weather is still temperate. There's also Uppervale to the north, but when winter came, that town will be entirely snowed in. Only a few hunters had chosen to make Uppervale their home, living off the trappings they could catch all year round.

They'd stopped in front of a rather large wooden house. It had stood out among its neighbors; not only was it significantly larger than the rest, there was a rather tall metal chimney sticking out the back of the house puffing away smoke. Felix's prattling could not have ended any sooner, when a young girl of about eight years of age with blonde pigtails suddenly ran out of a side door in the house with a happy squeal, and dashed towards Ron with outstretched arms. With a large smile, the blond Kingsguard quickly dropped to one knee, reached out to her and with one swift movement, lifted her into the sky. Her spry hands wrapped itself around Ron's neck and they hugged briefly as she squealed in delight, "Ron!"

Felix let out a loud exaggerated sigh at the scene. He looked sadly at Shego with a disappointed shrug, "Why does Ron always attract all the ladies?"

"It must be because of my charmingly good looks," Ron offered with a laugh as he hefted the little girl in his arms and carried her towards the open doorway. "Or maybe you just scare away the children with your zombie-slaying ways."

Shego watched as he carried the girl in his arms, listening attentively to her chattering. Suddenly, she felt something nudge her arm and turned to look at Felix looking at her. "What?" she growled at him.

"Jealous of Suzie?" Felix teased. "She's only eight, you know… But she's going to break so many hearts when she grows up. I just know it."

"Hmph," Shego tore her eyes away from Ron and glared at the smirking crippled man. "I was just wondering who she was after all… She looks too old to be Ron's child…"

"Hmm… Interesting," Felix mused to himself. "Just so you know, Ron is still pretty much single, and Suzie isn't his kid… She's just an orphan here."

"Really?" Shego tried to hide her disinterest with a bored tone. "So this is it. The orphanage, huh?"

"Yup," Felix nodded his head. "Founded five years ago by Mr. and Mrs. Possible… Well, Mrs. Possible for the most of it, Mr. Possible is the only blacksmith for miles around here. So the Possibles are decently well-off… Not Rockwaller-rich, but they get along comfortably and they have room for a few extra mouths…"

Shego continued to watch Ron as he knocked on the door of the orphanage and saw him greeted with a chorus of young mouths as a group of children swelled out the front door and clamored around the blond Kingsguard. "Looks like there are a lot of orphans," Shego commented as she estimated about ten-odd mouths to feed between the ages of six and ten years old.

"Yeah, well, you know how it is in these parts," Felix shrugged his shoulders as he dropped his voice. "In between bandits and a king who doesn't look after his subjects, people pretty much have to fend for themselves. These kids are lucky to have someone like Mrs. Possible take them in when pretty much no one else will."

"Then, this is this because of the war?"

"Nah," Felix sounded a bit uncomfortable. "Actually, most of these kids lost their parents because of dragons…"

"Dragons?" Shego pulled back in surprise. "You mean all these kids… Their parents?"

"Yeah, what else did you think?" Felix replied, with a tone of bitter resignation in his voice. He closed his eyes to calm himself down with a deep breath. "When I said dragons, I actually meant a dragon. The dragon. One dragon. Five years ago, one night, just after their parents tucked them into their beds and kissed them good night, a dragon flies into the village, rips the roof off and two massive rows of teeth chomps down on their parents…"

Shego held her tongue to keep from snapping back a few choice words about them deserving it. "Right…" she drawled sarcastically to herself.

Felix mustn't have heard her because he suddenly sighed out loud. "It's just a touchy subject around here… People treat dragons like taboo; we don't speak or tell stories about them. After all," he gestured again at the orphanage, "The memories still hurt."

"Of course it does…" Shego bit her lip as a sliver of a memory surfaced. It had almost seemed fresh in her mind…

"But the scars never go away," Felix replied bluntly as he limped towards the orphanage, shuffling his crippled leg along. With a loud voice, he called to her, "So you coming for some meatloaf or what?"

"Wait…" Shego caught up to the limping man, stopping him with a hand on his shoulder. Glancing down at his leg, she asked softly, "Your leg… Was it a dragon too?"

"Uh huh…" Felix replied with a brave smile. "It's okay… I feel sorry for myself too." Brushing off her hand, he walked up the front door of the orphanage, dragging his useless limb behind him. Shego could see a wince of pain in his eyes as he accidentally placed too much weight on his limb, but he quickly shrugged it off. Shego quietly followed him in.

* * *

"Mrs. Possible, I'd like you to meet Shego," Ron introduced her to a tall red-head woman whose grace and gentleness looked almost stately, despite the typical housewife apron she had wrapped around her peasantry garb. Her hair was cropped just above her shoulders, and she beamed as she extended her hand towards Shego. She seemed like the very paragon of motherhood.

"I…" Shego suddenly feel small before the stately-looking woman. "Nice to meet you."

"Shego, is it?" Mrs. Possible smiled kindly as she extended her hand, which Shego cautiously accepted. "That's a rather unique name, where are you from?"

"Up north," Shego mumbled vaguely.

"North?" Mrs. Possible cocked her head to the side a bit. "You mean Uppervale?"

"Umm…" Shego coughed slightly. "Further than that… My family used to stay… I've just been doing a lot of travelling for the past couple of years and thought it would be nice to visit my old home."

"Oh," Mrs. Possible replied as she cocked her head to the side.

Shego immediately recognized that "Oh." It was the sort of "Oh" that someone would say when they didn't buy her answer. She coughed nervously tried to avoid the subject, "Mrs. Possible… Felix here told me that you make the meanest meatloaf in all of the Tri-vale area…"

Mrs. Possible gave a gracious smile, "I'm not sure about the meanest… But I never had any complaints about it. Do you three want to have some for lunch?"

"Count me in!" Felix immediately reacted with his hand waving wildly in the air. "You know I could never say no to your meatloaf."

"I… I should be going…" Ron mumbled as he glanced over at the pleading eyes of Felix. "But… I guess I could stay for one meal."

"That's great," Mrs. Possible clapped her hands together. She looked directly at Shego and with a smile asked politely, "Shego, would you mind helping me out in the kitchen?"

Shego felt a lump in her throat. With a stiff nod, she slowly followed Mrs. Possible to the kitchen with leaden feet. Mrs. Possible immediately busied herself with taking out three plates and laying them on the kitchen counter. Leaning over the oven, she pulled out a half-eaten meatloaf with a large kitchen cloth and set in on the table. Taking out a large carving knife and fork, she glanced at Shego before slowly carving the first slice of meatloaf. "So how did you two meet?" Mrs. Possible asked flatly.

"I just met Ron on my way up north," Shego explained briefly. "I ran into some trouble, and Ron helped me out."

"Hmm." Mrs. Possible barely reacted to her answer. The silence of the kitchen was only punctuated with the staccato clinks of the knife blade as it sliced through the meatloaf and hit the tin plate. "So what is it that you do?"

"I'm just a traveler…" Shego hated the feeling of being scrutinized. It was almost as if the woman was probing into every aspect of her life and seeing her for what she actually is. Shego suddenly decided to move on the offensive, "Is there a point to all these questions? I know you don't trust me because I'm a stranger, but do we need to play this game?"

Mrs. Possible set the knife and fork down on the kitchen counter and wiped her hands with her apron. "Shego… I just would like to know more about the woman that Ron's dating…"

"Dating?" Shego almost exploded. "I just met the guy! We're… There's… I'm…"

"Calm down," Mrs. Possible remarked as she stepped closer.

"Why would we be dating?" Shego retorted. "I don't even like him?"

Mrs. Possible raised an eyebrow. "I thought it looked very clear to me that he likes you," Mrs. Possible remarked. "Didn't you notice the way he keeps glancing at you and hangs on to every word you say?"

"I… I didn't…" Shego was caught off-guard. She glanced at the kitchen doorway, wondering if Felix or Ron could hear every word they said. A faint distant male raucous laughter that drifted through reassured her that no one was listening in on their conversation.

"I'm really sorry for the misunderstanding," Mrs. Possible took on a gentler tone. "You can't help but be suspicious of any woman your son brings home."

"Son? I thought…" Shego looked confusedly at the red-head.

"Ron's not exactly my son, but…" Mrs. Possible smiled to herself. "It's just that when Ron was growing up, he spent so many years here underfoot that my husband and I came to think of him as our other son."

"What about his real parents?"

"Oh, his real parents live just two doors down," Mrs. Possible replied. "Ron's father is a trader, so he travels a lot. And since it was a little hard for Ron's mom to take care of the household by herself, Ron came over the play with Kim quite a bit."

"Kim?" Something familiar stirred in Shego's memory. "You mean, Ron's best friend?"

"Yes, my daughter is…" Mrs. Possible's voice faltered a little. "Was Ron's best friend."

"I'm sorry," Shego offered her condolences. "I heard what had happened to Kim."

"It was a long time ago," Mrs. Possible replied with a slight hint of sadness in her voice. "I'm sorry I was just so suspicious of you. Your answers seemed a bit strange to me. I know most of the people in Uppervale quite well, as I'm the nearest midwife they have, and I just never heard of anyone named Shego there. And your features," Mrs. Possible looked closely at Shego's face, as though she was reading her very thoughts. "They're too sharp and defined to be from around here. I would have guessed that you were from across the Eastern Sea."

"I'm… I'm not from Uppervale," Shego replied nervously, unsure how to explain herself. "My family used to live in the mountains…"

"No one has ever lived in the mountains." Mrs. Possible squinted her eyes and look closely at Shego there. "It's dangerous there, there are dragons…"

"Umm… Were dragons… King Drakken had ordered them wiped out a long time ago," Shego gulped. "My family did… Used to… Anyway… It was a long time ago, and we kept mostly to ourselves."

"I see," Mrs. Possible said, sounding a little terse. "It doesn't really matter to me where you're from. I'm just looking out for Ron's best interest here. I don't care if you have anything to hide, I just hope that you wouldn't hurt him. Would you?"

"No! Of course not! I would never…" Shego immediately protested. She caught herself and took a deep breath. "I think I've overstayed, you wouldn't see me around here any-…"

"Wait a minute, I didn't mean to…" Mrs. Possible stopped her by stepping into her way. "Please, sit down… I didn't mean that."

Shego eyed the woman carefully, before deciding to accept her offer. Pulling out a kitchen chair, she sat down and kept her hands firmly on her knees.

"You know, my daughter, Kim… She used to…" Mrs. Possible bit her lip as she spoke. "My daughter was deeply in love with Ron. We… We used to talk about Ron quite a lot, and… And I had always thought that one day Ron would be my son-in-law. I guess I just felt a little jealous when I saw the way Ron looked at you, and I just thought for a moment that it should be my daughter that he should be looking at."

"I'm sorry about your daughter, but…"

"Wait, Shego," Mrs. Possible held up her hand. "I am just acting petty, I know I shouldn't… But it has been a while and I realized that I was just looking someone to blame for Kim's death. I know Ron deserves to have his chance of happiness too. And forgive my earlier prejudice, but I think you and Ron make a lovely couple."

"Th-… Thanks, I guess?" Shego looked at the woman.

"So," Mrs. Possible said with a warm smile. "As my way of apologizing, would you want to stay here for tonight? We can get to know each other better."

"Look, I'm just going to be a bother."

"No, no, please, I insist," Mrs. Possible replied firmly. She had put on her motherly voice that tolerated no dissent. Shego sighed as she knew that this wasn't going to be easy. Fighting through a hundred Kingsguard would be a lot easier than refusing this persistent woman. Grudgingly, she nodded her head.

* * *

Luckily for her, Ron and Felix had rescued her, and showed her around the rest of Middlevale. To her surprise, everyone seemed to greet Ron with a smile on their face. _It's probably because he's the prodigal son who got out of this godforsaken place_. Not that she would admit it, but this small village seemed rather… quaint. Everyone had welcomed her to Middlevale, their very homes, and she couldn't remember the number of invitations she had received for lunch, dinner or tea. Of course it had helped that she was a friend of Ron's. Maybe she should stay for a couple more days…

Still, she was glad to finally turn in for the night, get her own bed and… Mrs. Possible had shown her to the room that she would be staying for the night. When she first walked in, out of habit, her eyes quickly glanced towards the window and remembered its location in case of emergencies. Then she took her time and carefully surveyed the room.

Someone lived here. The bed was well-made, and there was a large stuffed animal sitting right on the pillow on the bed. The shelves were filled with little trinkets of childhood memories, small little shiny rocks, ribbons and other little knick-knacks. The books were neatly stacked on the table and looked like it hadn't been touched in ages, although the entire room remained immaculately clean. Walking up to the bed, she picked up the curiously strange stuffed animal that resembled a plump bear with a thick tail. Turning it around, she wondered about the owner.

"That's Pandaroo…"

"Excuse me?" Shego turned towards Mrs. Possible.

The red-head woman was leaning against the doorway as she watched Shego. She nodded her head towards the plush toy in her hands and said, "That's Pandaroo… At least, that's what Kim called it."

"Why?" Shego asked as she looked closely at the weird animal.

"She said that it looked like a mix between a panda bear and a kangaroo…" Mrs. Possible smiled wryly as she gazed fondly at the toy in her hands. "I made it for Kim when she was only three. As you can see I'm not the best seamstress around, but Kim loved it anyway and she would always hug it to sleep."

Shego smiled as she looked at the toy before gently replacing it on the bed. "I really appreciate your hospitality, but this is too much. I can't stay here, this is your daughter's… Kim's room."

"Nonsense," Mrs. Possible remarked as she sat down on Kim's bed. Patting the mattress next to her, she gestured for Shego to sit down. "I'm sure Kim wouldn't mind sharing her room with you."

With a sigh, Shego sat down next to Mrs. Possible and clutched Pandaroo tightly against her chest. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Mrs. Possible said. "Even my husband and the boys don't mind."

"Mrs. Possible…"

"Anne, please…"

"Umm… Anne," The unfamiliar syllable felt like a lump in her mouth. Shego cleared her throat, "I'm really grateful for you letting me stay here…"

"Don't mention it," Mrs. Possible replied with a smile. She lifted her hand and gently brushed Shego's long black hair behind her ear. In a soft voice, she spoke, "I didn't realize how much I had missed Kim."

"Umm…" Shego blushed and turned away.

"Tell me, Shego," Mrs. Possible gave her an impish grin. "What do you think of Ron?"

"What do you mean?" Shego's eyes narrowed.

"I mean, what do you think of him?" Mrs. Possible asked. "I'm sure you know Ron likes you, and I'm just wondering what do you think of him?"

"You mean, honestly?" Shego raised an eyebrow.

Mrs. Possible nodded her head in silence.

"He likes to listen to himself talk all the time," Shego remarked out loud. She waited for a moment for Mrs. Possible to jump to his defense, but she just nodded with a knowing smile on his face. Taking a deeper breath, she decided to finally say what's on her mind, "His head is always up in the clouds dreaming of all sorts of rubbish, he has these strange and weird ideas from god knows where and he gets very easily distracted, especially by loose women like Bonnie…"

"And he also has very bad table manners, he doesn't know how to take care of his own appearance, he talks to animals more than to people and his pants always fall down at the most embarrassing moments." Mrs. Possible finished her sentence with a laugh.

"I… I wouldn't know about the pants…" Shego coughed nervously as she glanced away.

"Don't worry," Mrs. Possible laughed as she patted Shego on the back. "I've heard it all before already. That's what Kim complains about him all the time too. But you didn't answer the question: what do you think of Ron?"

"He's a total and complete buffoon…"

Mrs. Possible sighed with a smile, "You're avoiding the question. How do you _feel_ about Ron?"

"I don't _feel_ anything for him!"

"Then why are you getting so worked up?"

"I'm _not _getting worked up!" Shego protested out loud. Too loud.

Mrs. Possible just sat quietly and gave Shego a knowing look; a look that made Shego feel that she was being read like an open book. The red-head had infuriatingly gotten under her skin, with her motherly tone, her sharp eyes and gentle words.

"Look," Shego drew a long breath. "Even _if_ I did have any sort of feelings for Ron, and I'm just talking hypothetically here, and this is absolutely not the case that I do, but just saying _if_, remember, _if_ I had any sort of feelings for Ron, it would just not work out between us."

"Why not?" Mrs. Possible asked, with a bemused smile on her face.

"Just because!" Shego raised her voice. She sighed and distractedly toyed with the Pandaroo in her arms, squeezing it and poking its nose. "We're different, that's one! We come from different worlds, and…"

"What do you mean by different?"

"You know… Just… Different…" Shego mumbled to herself, as she kept her eyes focused on the stuffed animal.

"Like?"

"Mrs. Possible, let's just say this… If Ron knew who I am… Who I really am… I don't think he would like me at all…"

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Possible asked. "What is it about you that you think he wouldn't like about you?"

"I… I…" Shego sighed. "Let's just say it's because of who I am."

"Dear," Mrs. Possible smiled as she put an arm around Shego's shoulder and gave her a little squeeze. "Take a little bit of advice from a housewife who has nothing better to do than to meddle in the affairs of young ones. It doesn't matter to Ron who you are, where you come from or any sort of that matter. I'm sure what's most important to Ron is who you are _to him_. And if you want to be someone special to Ron, then everything else doesn't matter."

Shego regarded her silently.

"Take it from me, Ron isn't too bothered about another person's past life or secrets," Mrs. Possible laughed. "That's why I worry a bit about him. If there's one thing about Ron, it would be that he is too honest with his feelings. And if he likes you, that's because he genuinely sees something in you. And he's not going to be bothered by anything else."

"I guess that's because he is a little simple-minded…" Shego remarked sarcastically.

"Now, now…" Mrs. Possible remarked reproachfully. "Give him a chance, and give yourself a chance too…"

"Maybe…" Shego shrugged carelessly. "Whatever… I just don't know…"

"It's okay…" Mrs. Possible said in a soothing voice. "You will get to know him, and he will get to know you too if you would just let him."

"I don't know… Just… Let me sleep on it first, okay?" Shego asked in a small voice.

"It's okay… Take all the time you need," Mrs. Possible smiled at the pale-skinned woman, as she stood up from the bed. "It's your happiness that you are thinking about here. Good night, Shego."

"Good night, Anne," Shego returned a strained smile as she looked up at Mrs. Possible. To her surprise, the motherly red-head leaned down, brushed a few strands of her black hair to the side, and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. A warm feeling rose to her cheeks as she angled her face away from the older woman, and mumbled something under her breath. With a smile on her face, Mrs. Possible shut the door quietly behind her as she left Shego to her own thoughts.

As the door latched clicked shut, Shego flopped listlessly back on bed and gazed upwards at the thatched roof of the house. She lifted the Pandaroo over her head and stared at the stuffed toy that stared back at her with button eyes. She cradled it against her chest and curled up on the bed, with images of a goofy-looking, blond Kingsguard riding his mangy-looking mottled brown horse to her rescue.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

In case you guys haven't figured out by now, the ANs have been prewritten too to stave of wasted time from procrastinating. But nonetheless, your reviews remain well-cherished. But not as cherished as the feeling of waking up with Shego's arms around you.

But I wonder too. C'mon, what ever happened to RonGos? I've seen too many K/Rs and KiGos, but seriously? We could do with a few RonGos once in a while. Please? I'll give you a lap dance. I promise.


	5. Chapter 5

_I found my way to the outskirts of Middleton Village. It was a nice pleasant village, and I found myself thinking of home when I arrived._

_Upon reaching, I chanced upon an orphanage. It was a really large and well-run orphanage, with over sixty children running around happily in the fields. I wonder to myself, is it possible for all these children to feel that much happiness after all they've lost their parents?_

_I was lost in thought when a tall, dark-haired woman with the brightest green eyes walked up to me and asked me who I was. I had humbly introduced myself to her as a scribe, and I was looking for a woman by the name of Katherine Stoppable. To my surprise, she seemed rather taken aback and it was only later that I discovered that she was actually the Katherine Stoppable that I was looking for._

_I explained the reason I was looking for her, that I wanted to record a personal account of stories of her great-grandfather, Ronald Stoppable, the last Dragonslayer. She seemed apprehensive at first, but she acquiesced anyway, and invited me into the orphanage, which, to my surprise, was run by her. I glanced up at the name of the orphanage and noted that it was named in honor of Kim Possible, no doubt some rich benefactor of the village, who had left a wealthy inheritance to the village of Middleton._

_She bade me to make myself at home and that she would only have time to answer all my questions once she had put all the children into bed for the night. As I watched her work, I am captivated by the grace and beauty of her. She seemed to be the vision which poets sing about, and her patience with children made me all the more curious about her. Such generosity hardly belied the lineage of such a fearsome and famous warrior, Ron Stoppable._

_Excerpt, Diaries of Scribe Load_

* * *

"Shego?" a male voice called out to her in her dreams.

"Ron?" Shego yawned as she rubbed her eyes. Suddenly, her sleep-addled mind snapped to alert, and she sat up hurriedly. "Ron!" she yelled as the blond Kingsguard was sitting at the foot of her bed, waving as he smiled nervously. "How the hell did you get in here?" she screamed as she flung the nearest thing she could get her hands on at him.

The object smacked Ron on the head and bounced harmlessly onto the floor. Without a word, Ron picked it up and looked at the object in his hands. "Pandaroo?" Ron waved the stuffed animal at Shego.

Blushing furiously, Shego growled, "Shut up! Give it back!"

"It's not yours… It's Kim's…" Ron replied softly as he held on to the soft toy.

"I… I knew that…" Shego was suddenly caught off-guard. "I was just putting it back…"

"It's okay…" Ron replied solemnly. "I'm sure Pandaroo misses Kim too. It's been a long time since someone held him to sleep." He offered the stuffed toy to her. "Take care of him, okay?"

"O-… Okay," Shego mumbled as she accepted the stuffed animal from him. Unwittingly, she hugged it tightly against her chest as she continued to watch Ron warily. "How'd you get in here?"

"Window…" Ron cocked his head towards the opening, where the curtains were swaying lazily in the breeze. "There was a broken latch that Kim's dad, Mr. P, never got around to fixing. So Kim and I used to sneak in and out at night when it was past bedtime."

"So you just snuck in here through the window?" Shego glared at him accusingly. "Into a girl's room? At night?"

"Hey now!" Ron sounded scandalized. "We were children! Kim's parents never minded."

"Yeah right," Shego muttered under her breath. "I'm sure her dad probably blew a fit the first time you casually strolled out of her bedroom in the morning."

"Well…" Ron laughed nervously. "Okay, maybe not… Speaking of which, that doesn't sound like such a great idea anymore… I'll just let myself out through the window and meet you in the kitchen for breakfast, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever," Shego replied carelessly as she ran her fingers through her tangled mess of hair. Absent-mindedly, she gently teased her tresses as she watched Ron hop out through the room's waist-high window into the backyard and strolled behind the house. She sighed to herself as she clutched Pandaroo in her arms.

There was a gentle knock on the door and Shego perked her head up in surprise. "Come in," she called out, still sitting up in bed.

Mrs. Possible popped her head in and she was wearing a conspiratorial grin on her face. "Has Ron left?"

"How'd you know he was here?" Shego's face turned a blushing crimson red.

"Oh, I don't know…" Mrs. Possible smiled conspiratorially. "It's just something that Ron used to do when Kim was still around."

Shego swore under her breath. "Anne… Look, nothing happened, okay? I was just surprised when I woke up and Ron was in my room… That's all, nothing else happened, I swear."

"Why, Shego," Mrs. Possible replied primly, but her eyes twinkled with mischief. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. What else could have happened in here?"

"Nothing!" Shego yelped. "Nothing, alright?"

"If you say so…" Mrs. Possible nodded her head calmly. The edges of her lips twitched a little. "But anything is going to happen next time, do let me know first so that I can get my husband and children out of the house, okay? These walls are pretty thin after all."

She coughed and spluttered as her face turned an even brighter shade of red. "Nothing happened…" she found herself growling, as she contemplated new ways of making that blond Kingsguard feel righteous and painful retribution for her embarrassment.

"Come on, Shego," Mrs. Possible held out her hand. "I'll show you where to wash up. I'm sure you want to look at least a little bit presentable for Ron before breakfast."

With a snort of disbelief, Shego pulled herself out of bed and followed Mrs. Possible to the bath house outside. The small room had a large barrel of clear water, and Shego gingerly cupped her hand and splashed some of the cold liquid on her face. The chilly water made her skin tingle. She glanced around and found a small cup sitting on a ledge. Picking it up, she filled it with water, and slowly trickled it down her hair as she angled her head to the side to make sure her clothes didn't get wet. Finally, satisfied that most of the sweat and grime had been cleaned from her hair, she wrung her hair to get the last drops of water out, when a large fluffy brown towel was held close to her face.

Looking up, she saw Mrs. Possible holding out a towel, as well as a few pieces of neatly folded clothing in her arms. "Here, use this," she said. "And I've also brought you some clean clothes to change into."

Shego eyed the clothing carefully. Noticing the apprehension on her face, Mrs. Possible quickly replied, "I know it's not much, it's just some of my clothes that I used to wear when I was younger."

"No, it's not that…" Shego said hesitantly. "It's just… I don't know… You've already given me a meal, a bed for the night, and now clean clothes. It's really too much, I don't know how I can repay you."

"Don't worry about that, silly!" Mrs. Possible laughed. "Just say thank you, and that will be enough."

"Th-… Thank you," Shego mumbled to herself.

"You're welcome," Mrs. Possible beamed at her before handing her the rest of the bundle of clothing. "Once you're done, join us for breakfast in the kitchen."

"Alright…" Shego returned her smile, although she felt awkward for accepting such hospitality. "I'll see you back in the house." She bit her lower lip as she watched Mrs. Possible leave. With a sigh, she gazed around the cramped bath house. It hadn't look like much from the outside; Shego wouldn't bet that it would last another winter with the bad state the wood was in. But somehow it seemed to give off a homely feeling, the feeling that despite its dilapidated state, it had really been cared for. Shego sighed as she slumped against the creaking walls, feeling torn between herself. Despite everything she felt, she just couldn't stay. She had to keep moving.

* * *

Shego sighed in exasperation. Although she could understand his enthusiasm of coming home to Middlevale, he'd practically dragged her all across the village, pointing out every little insignificant detail of the place, or rattling on about every single memory of his childhood.

"… And that's where we hang out most of the time, Good Cheese Wraps…" Ron pointed at the small shack at the end of the row of shops. Shego squinted her eyes and looked skeptically at the dingy looking place. "It's the most awesome thing you could ever eat… I swear…"

"Cheese wraps?" Shego asked hesitantly. "Sounds…"

"Sounds good, right?" Ron cut her off as he nodded his head enthusiastically. "It's cheesy melted goodness, just oozing off the unleavened bread and right into your belly. You really should try it."

Before she could say a word, Ron had reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her in the direction of the shop. She stumbled wordlessly after him without protest, as her eyes were drawn to the large paw wrapped around hers. Her wrist jerked a little as she instinctively tried to pull away, but a better part of her resisted.

"Shego?"

"What?" Shego snapped at the sound of the voice that suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

Ron looked a little surprised at her tone. "You were spacing out a bit back there… I called your name three times but you were sort of… You know…" Ron wiggled his fingers. "Out there."

"I… Ah…" Shego blushed as she averted his eyes. Her gaze fell towards his hand which was holding hers. With a cough, she whipped her hand away and covered her mouth. "Not hungry…" Shego growled in a low voice.

"Aww… C'mon," the blond Kingsguard was still grinning infectiously. "Trust me, it's really, really good, and it's a Middlevale specialty…"

"I thought I saw plenty of shops like this back in the Kingdom of Go…" Shego remarked sarcastically.

"Oh sure… Those are rip-offs…" Ron sounded hurt. "It's nowhere as good as the original, and the original is right here in Middlevale!"

"How hard could it be to slap some cheese on a piece of bread and heat it over a stove?" Shego raise an eyebrow as she crossed her hands over her chest defensively.

"See? That's the secret…" Ron grinned proudly. "How do you make something so simple taste so good? Trust me, you'll want to try this." Without waiting for her to object, Ron turned to the man at the counter and with gusto, started rattling off, "Ned, my good man, can I have one of everything, double helping on the cheese?"

"I don't think I'm that hungry," Shego remarked sarcastically.

"Don't worry about that," Ron replied happily as he fished into his pocket for a handful of coins. "Just trust me, have a bite of everything. I'll finish the rest."

Shego eyed the mousey haired man who was busy throwing everything together and setting it on a tray. The food was stacked high, and Ron's eyes shined at the feast before him. Shego crossed her arms and tsk-tsked skeptically at the Kingsguard. Whirling around, Ron offered her a sloppy, dripping roll of unleavened bread, stuffed full of oozing yellow cheese. "Mmm…" Ron grinned. "Just how I like it… Here, Shego, have the first bite. Trust me, you'll love it."

Hesitantly, she took the offering and sniffed at it gingerly. The bread was still warm and the sweet scented cheese was wafting through her nostrils. Slowly she took a small nibble at the edge of the bread. Slowly chewing, she decided that it didn't taste too bad. A bit thick and oily, but it gave her a nice warm feeling as she swallowed, rather like a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "It's not bad," she admitted, as she handed the morsel back to Ron. "What do you call this?"

"This is none other than the Original Holy Chimmerito," Ron replied reverently as he caressed it in his hands as though it was the most precious thing in the world. "There's nothing else quite like it, and there never will be."

Shego snorted dismissively, "Whatever you say."

"Okay, maybe if you're not impressed, you have got to try this Guacamole E'speciale…" Ron announced as he pulled out another wrap which was also dripping with green and white cream.

With a shrug, she accepted it and chewed it slowly. "Okay, I'll give it to you," Shego nodded her head. "This tastes okay."

"Okay?" Ron was shocked. "Only the second best food in the world, next to the Original Holy Chimmerito and you say it's okay? Shego, Shego, Shego, you have much to learn about the Cheesy Way of Cheese."

"Uh huh," Shego drawled absent-mindedly as she bit another mouthful off. "Whatever you say, Ron."

"Ron!" a bubbly feminine voice squealed with delight. Shego immediately shot around and her eyes narrowed as a smiling, gorgeous blonde woman ran towards them and threw her arms around Ron's neck, giving him a big kiss on the lips that made Shego's eyes open wide. "Bonnie told me you were back! I knew I'd find you here at Good Cheese Wraps."

"Tara!" Ron laughed as he returned the hug around her waist. "Yeah, I ran into Bonnie yesterday while she was prowling around town like a stalker…"

Tara laughed and smacked Ron's arm playfully. "That was mean! You should have dropped by and said hello or something. So will you be staying long?"

"Naw," Ron shook his head wistfully. "Just in town for a bit, I have to leave tomorrow. You know how it is with Captain Barkin. Always yelling at me and breathing down my neck. I swear he's just out to get me."

"Aww, you're just saying that," Tara giggled.

Shego's ears prickled at the blonde's light tinkling laugh that seemed to grate against her nerves and hanging on to Ron like a cheap drunk harlot, pressing her breasts up so tightly against him. And Ron's seem to be enjoying himself, with that goofy idiotic look on his face… So much like him to forget about me when a floozy comes along.

"Tara, I have someone here I want you to meet," Ron turned and gestured towards Shego. "This is my friend, Shego."

"Oooh," Tara squealed, as she blushed and stepped back from Ron, smoothing her dress as she gave a small curtsy. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were there."

Sure you didn't, Shego blithely thought to herself.

"My name is Tara." She offered a hand politely. "Nice to meet you."

Shego gripped her hand and squeezed it harshly for a good measure. "Nice to meet you too, Tara," her name rolled off Shego's tongue like a corpse being dragged across a room filled with broken glass.

"Is this your first time here in Middlevale?" Tara asked excitedly, oblivious to Shego's outwardly show of hostility. "How do you like it so far?"

Shego cast a sideways glance at Ron, before turning back to Tara, "It has its positive points," Shego remarked with a predatory smile as she sized up the bubbly blonde.

"Oh, Middlevale has much more than just the food," Tara glanced around the food shack. Beaming at Ron, she continued, "Ron here would just show you all the great places to eat, without all the sights and sounds if he had his way."

"It's okay," Shego replied sourly. "I was starting to feel a little hungry."

"Oh, I do have to go now," Tara remarked. "I still have some errands to run. Ron, let's catch up later tonight, okay?"

"Sure thing, Tara," Ron waved at the young woman. "Bye!"

"Bye," she waved back enthusiastically as she skipped away, a light spring in her step. "Bye Shego."

Shego grunted in annoyance as the ditzy floozy disappeared around the corner, before squaring off with Ron. With a low growl, she sneered contemptuously, "Your girlfriend?"

"What?" Ron looked surprised at her aggressive accusation. "No, no… She's nothing of that sort."

"Really?" her voice grated, like steel scraping against stone, "Most girls don't just kiss a friend on the lips…" she added to herself, not realizing she'd spoken aloud.

"Really…" Ron replied quickly. He scratched his head and tilted his head sideways, before squinting his eyes at the pouting raven-haired beauty. It had been nagging at the back of his mind, but he just wasn't sure. "Are you… Jealous?" he ventured slowly.

"What?" she screeched in outrage. Too quickly. Way too quickly. Raising her voice, she growled defiantly, "Why would I be jealous? I don't give a damn about which blonde floozy you're dating!"

A small smile appeared on Ron's lips as the situation was becoming clearer to him. "I don't know," Ron leaned back against the food counter, looking completely unfazed. "You sound jealous."

"I do not sound jealous!" Shego fumed back, glaring angrily at the Kingsguard.

"Okay, if you say so," Ron replied nonchalantly with a shrug, as he reached over and picked up a cheese-wrapped bread and slowly bit off a small portion. With his jaws still chewing, he leaned over to her and dropped his voice low. "But you look jealous. Your face is entirely red."

Shego's left hand instinctively shot to her warm face where all the blood had rushed to a moment ago. Snapping her head sideward, she pretended to ignore the smirking blond, trying to stare out into the distance and calm her nerves down. Then suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, and slowly it pulled her back to face the Kingsguard. She'd expected a smirking face, taunting and teasing her, mocking her, laughing at her. But he looked at her with… She couldn't quite describe it... It was almost tenderly as he held her shoulders as he gazed into her eyes.

"It's okay, Shego. I'm glad that you're jealous…"

"Why?" her voice slipped. Suddenly, she felt vulnerable with the Kingsguard standing this close to her, the way he was looking at her…

"Because…" Ron spoke, as he leaned in slowly. His lips edged closer to hers, then tenderly brushed against hers. To his surprise, she didn't react. He'd expected her to flinch, yell, scream or even floor him with one of her vicious punches. Although she didn't kiss back, at least he was still in one piece. And slowly he pulled back and gazed at her again. "Because…" he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I love you."

Shego's mind had completely shut down in the last eight seconds, and suddenly his words snapped her out of her dazed state of mind. "No…" she hissed as she suddenly took a step back, shrugging his hands off her shoulders.

"Wh-… What do you mean no?" Ron stammered, as his fingers grasped futilely at the space where she had just stood a moment ago.

"No!" Shego raised her voice, dropping it to a harsh whisper as she stumbled back. "Just… Just get away from me!"

Ron called her name, but she'd already ran down the street, trying her best to get as far away as she could. She could hear Ron chasing after her, but quickly she ducked into a side alley and pressed her back against the wall, holding her breath as she waited for him to run by. As his footsteps faded away into the distance, she slid to her knees and pressed her fingers against her temples, trying to fight back sobs that still came like tiny hiccups. Her heart was beating erratically as she wiped the tears off with the back of her hand. It just isn't fair… Just isn't… She let her feet wander by themselves and soon found herself standing outside the Possibles' orphanage. Not knowing why, she pushed the door open and let herself in before leaning against the door. Her chest heaved in short breaths which seemed to cut right through her heart as she tried to make sense of what just happened.

* * *

Shego sat curled up on the armchair in the Possibles' home, absent-mindedly chewing on her hair as she sat deep in thought. It had happened so fast, too fast… It was like something snapped inside her, that she couldn't stand the torrid feeling of being alone anymore, of waking up in a strange and unfamiliar town every two days and of wasting away slowly. And Ron was… He was…

"Are you alright?" Mrs. Possible interrupted her thoughts.

"Huh?" Shego looked up in surprise.

Mrs. Possible offered her a comforting smile as she sat in the chair next to Shego. "You look rather troubled," Mrs. Possible explained. "Is something wrong?"

"Um…" Shego tried not to blush, as she dipped her chin and let her long black hair flow over her face.

"Did something happen between you and Ron?" Mrs. Possible probed further.

Slowly, Shego nodded her head, as she kept her eyes firmly fixed on the ground.

"Did you two fight?"

"No…"

"Did he hurt you?"

"No…"

"Then what did he do?" Mrs. Possible asked patiently.

"He…" Shego replied emotionlessly. "He told me he loved me…"

"That's wonderful!" Mrs. Possible as she walked over to the arm chair and draped an arm over Shego's shoulder. "But you don't look pleased at all…"

Shego sighed as she leaned against Anne. "This isn't supposed to happen," Shego mumbled abstractly.

"Why not?" Anne asked.

"Because I don't love him!" Shego spat out. "I don't love him at all." Her words tasted like sawdust in her mouth. "I… Don't… Love…"

"Then why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" Anne asked.

"It hurts…" Shego replied mournfully. She reached her hand to touch her chest as a lone tear streaked down her cheek. "It hurts so much… Here… So much…"

"Shego, be honest with yourself," Anne replied soothingly as she patted the woman's shoulder. "Do you feel anything for Ron?"

"I…" Shego struggled with a lump in her throat. "I don't know! How am I supposed to know? He drives me crazy! He says the most inane things! Things that infuriate me! He treats me like a child sometimes and he always has this smirk on his face that I always want to beat out of him! But… But…" her voice failed her.

"Hush now," Anne crooned softly. "Just take a deep breath."

"It doesn't make sense!" Shego cried out as she choked back a sob. "It doesn't! I'm not supposed to feel that way! He gets under my skin, but when he looks at another woman, I get this rage building up in me that I just want to…" She shuddered a bit. Blithely she muttered, "I was happy until I met him…"

"Really now, Shego," Mrs. Possible admonished her gently. "You sound more like a worried wife than a young lover."

Shego sat unmoving, curled up in the armchair as she digested this new bit of information. "I'd given up…" she whispered to herself.

"Come now, Shego," Anne pulled her into a tight hug. "Every woman deserves to be loved by a man. Even if they don't think so."

"No…" Shego's reply was muffled by her face pressed against Anne's side. "No… It's not that…"

"You have to give yourself a chance," Anne coaxed her. "Give Ron a chance to make you happy."

"That's impossible," Shego shook her head. "It can't happen…"

"Shh… Shego," Anne stroked her long hair gently. "Love can make anything happen only if you let it into your heart."

Shego mumbled something that sounded like, "Stupid bards and poets."

"It's true," Anne admonished her. "I believe somehow that deep inside your heart, you already know that you love Ron. But for some reason, you kept denying your feelings despite them growing in your heart. And that's why it hurts, doesn't it?"

"What if…" Shego bit her lip. "Dammit, love is stupid." Shego hardened her voice as she declared defiantly, "Ron doesn't love me. He couldn't… Not if he really knew me…"

"Love is blind," Anne nodded her head as if expecting this answer, "But love is also kind, undemanding and forgiving. And Ron doesn't care much for people's past or anything of that sort. He doesn't care about your possessions or your looks, he's just one of those simple people who just enjoys being with people that he loves. And he loves you otherwise he wouldn't have said those words to you."

"That still doesn't mean he should love me…" Shego gnashed her teeth together in frustration. "Love isn't as blind as the bards profess… Two village children growing up together are destined for love… Not me…"

"Why not?" Anne asked, as she placed a shoulder on Shego's shoulder. "Surely you are deserving of love too, right?"

"It's just…" Shego bit her lip. "It's just about Kim…" She looked up suddenly at Anne with a guilty look. "She died because of a dragon, right? I… I recall the northern villages were attacked heavily by dragons after King Hergog was murdered by the King Drakken…"

"Yes," Anne pressed her lips together into a thin strained smile. "Look, Shego… I would love my daughter to live happily ever after with Ron, but I wouldn't begrudge you for that fact…"

"No…" Shego shook her head. "That's not it… Just… Tell me, Anne… What color was the dragon? The markings on its head?"

"Why? Why do you want to know?" Anne as a little taken-aback.

"Please…" Shego bit her lip hard. "I must know…"

"It was…" Anne shut her eyes as she tried to recall that terrible night five years ago. "It was green…"

"Green?" Shego's back stiffened. "What sort of green? Brackish-green, vermillion green…"

"Why does it matter?" Anne shook her head as she felt the pain of the memory surging back, the echoes of the roars and flames over the years came back to her. Looking at Shego's glassy eyes, she sighed and replied, "Well, if it's that important to you, it was more of a muddy green with red webbed wings…"

"Really?" Shego's eyes opened wide. "You're sure it wasn't black?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Anne replied. "With a great horn on its muzzle… Now do you mind telling me what is this all about?"

"A horn? What horn?" The woman cocked her head to the side in puzzlement, before her eyes opened in realization. "Shego's shoulders slackened as she felt the tension ease from her body. Raising her arms, she pulled Anne into a tight hug, where the older woman let out a small yelp of surprise. "Thank you, Anne," she cried, trying to erase the smile off her face as she buried her face into the woman's shoulder. "Thank you."

"Now, now…" Anne stroked her hair as she couldn't help but smile at the sudden show of affection. "Well, I wouldn't pretend to understand what that was all about…"

"It's nothing," Shego gave a weak smile as she pulled away from the woman. Wiping the corner of her eye, she said cryptically, "It's okay… It's not my fault…"

Not quite understanding what she was talking about, Anne said, "Shego… You have a bigger heart than you'd care to admit. If you didn't care so much for Ron's feelings, you could have trampled all over them, belittled his emotions and played with his heart. Or you could have disappeared off into the night without saying so much as a word to him. But you stayed. You stayed because you care for him."

"I could be just fucking around," Shego tried to grin through reddened eyes.

"Of course you could keep up that false bravado and not let anyone into your life," Anne remarked coolly. "But you have shown yourself to be a woman with feelings. Just because you're here right now, confiding in me, that tells me that you don't want to hurt him. And that may just mean that you're the right woman to love him back."

"Pah," Shego grumbled to herself as she mentally chewed on Anne's words, and the wisdom held within them. "So what do I do now?"

"Well…" Anne pursed her lips in thought. "What did you do after Ron told you that he loved you?"

"I…" Shego hung her head in embarrassment. "I ran away."

Anne couldn't help but smile to herself. "That wasn't too bad," she remarked. "So what are you going to do next?"

"You tell me," Shego looked at the matronly woman. Grudgingly, she admitted, "I'm new to this love business."

"I can tell," Anne laughed as she got to her feet, pulling Shego up with her. "First, we got to fix those puffy eyes of yours. We can't have Ron noticing that you've cried your eyes out…"

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Right, before I get any flak for it, yes, Bueno Nacho was simply translated as Good Cheese Wraps. Yes, you can shoot me now. There's a very good reason why it's called Good Cheese Wraps. The reason is because in any half-baked fantasy story, there are only five languages in the whole cosmic universe. The first one is the common tongue, used by every day people and commoners, e.g. you and me. The second is the language reserved for kings and queens and noble-born, although this is sometimes replaced with what I call the third language, which is the language of magic. See, casting spells just doesn't sound right in English. Just stand on a table and scream "Fire!" or "Levitate!" doesn't have quite the same mystic allure as "Brsingr!" or "Wingardium Leviosa!" Yes, usually it's Latin in disguise too, for those who lack originality. *roll eyes*

Then the last two languages are simply the language of the elves and language of the orcs. Or basically, the good guy race and the bad guy race. Usually elves and orcs, but sometimes its dwarves and goblins, or angels and demons, or some other mix-and-match. So basically there's no place in this world for Spanish. It just seems all humans have a common tongue, but yeah, I shall not even go there. So no offense to those Spanish speaking people out there, but c'mon, Bueno Nacho doesn't quite fit into a fantasy world.

Prove me wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

_And Sherainz struck Middlevale,_

_Full of flames and fury,_

_Slaying fifteen men with a single breath,_

_And struck down an entire legion._

_But one man stood before her,_

_Challenged her, man to dragon,_

_Ron Stoppable raised his sword and shield,_

_And cried for the heavens to protect him._

_And they dueled,_

_With shield and claw,_

_Sparks flew that scorched the earth,_

_Until the Kingsguard beat her off._

_Mortally wounded with rage,_

_She flew off into the night,_

_Cursing his name on her tongue,_

_Swearing revenge on his kind._

_But the danger was not over,_

_Fair Ron, wise and able,_

_Tracked her to the ends of the world,_

_And forced battle once again._

_This time fueled with righteousness of his deeds,_

_The goddess of justice threw the dice in his favor,_

_He struck the final blow,_

_And Sherainz breathed no more._

_- Ode of The Last Dragonslayer_

* * *

Shego found herself shuffling nervously in a dress that Anne Possible had picked out for her. It was a clean summer frock with pastel flowers near the hem which showed off her slim legs. Shego sighed as she paced nervously outside Ron's house. She could feel the heat on her face, and wondered if she was blushing profusely or if it was just the heat of the late afternoon sun. Steeling herself, she pushed the front gate open and strode up to the front door. She raised her hand and was ready to knock on the door when she caught herself.

Shutting her eyes, she took a deep breath and rapped her knuckles on the weathered wooden door. A long agonizing moment passed and she felt ready to burst with anticipation, all while holding her breath in. Pressing a hand against her chest, she consciously made an effort to steady herself and exhaled. Counting her breaths, she waited painfully for a response. As she was about to turn to leave, the door suddenly swung open, with Ron standing at the doorway.

They stared at each other for a moment unsure of what to say to each other. Shego was the first to recover as she cleared her throat, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Ah…" Ron gathered his wits as he took a step back. "Oh yeah… Please…"

Silently Shego stepped into the small cottage. Her eyes wandered around the sparsely decorated house which consisted of a few chairs against the wall, a deerskin rug on the floor and a small dining table against the back, flanked by two doors. She felt the uncertainty welling up inside her again which threatened to burst out of her heart. "So… Ron…" she started.

"I'm sorry!" Ron blurted out suddenly.

Looking at him in surprise, Shego stared agape. "What…"

"Wait, wait, Shego," Ron held up his hand. "I don't know if I can take it anymore, and I really need to get this off my chest, but if you say anything I might just change my mind and…"

"Ron…" she started to grind her teeth as he blabbed on incoherently.

The blond Kingsguard took a deep breath as he held up his hand biding her to be silent. "I'm sorry," he finally said again. "I didn't mean to say to say those words. It was very insensitive of me, for all I know you could have a lover that you were going to meet up north, or you are the mother of someone's child. I mean, yeah, I barely know a thing about you other than the fact that you're gorgeous, strong and brave, and I don't know what the hell possessed me to say something like that to you."

"Something like what?" Shego held her breath as she stepped closer towards the blond.

"You know…" Ron stammered as he looked away nervously. "What I said? Earlier this afternoon."

"That is?" Shego prodded, feeling her heart flutter a bit.

"I…" Ron blushed a furious strawberry red as he stammered. "I love you?"

"Good," Shego felt a little light-headed as he spoke those words again.

"Good?"

"Take makes this so much easier," Shego bit her lip as she closed her eyes. She prayed that Anne was right about this. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

She kept her eyes shut, not knowing what to expect. Except… She felt his arms reaching around her, embracing her and pulling her close to his body. Relief washed over her as she opened her eyes slowly and looked back into hazel-brown eyes gazing into her soul.

"God…" Ron smiled, she could see the twinkle in his eyes. "I thought… For a moment that you were going to hit me."

"I almost did," Shego replied. "Don't ever surprise me like that again, ever," she admonished him.

Ron laughed as he pulled her close again. Shego stiffened her back before easing herself into his arms. Hesitantly, she admitted to herself in a whisper, "I could get used to this."

"Excuse me?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Shego muttered hurriedly as she turned her face away. A ghost of a smile traced her lips.

"Shego," Ron's voice broke her thoughts.

"Mmmhmm?" Shego replied.

"Do you want to come into my room or something?"

Shego suddenly recoiled from his arms and gave him a suspicious glare. "That was fast…" she muttered out loud.

"Oh no!" Ron blurted out suddenly. "That's not what I meant." He could have just kicked himself for those words. "What I meant to say is that would you like to get comfortable in my room… No, wait, that sounds even worse. I mean, someplace where we could sit down and talk?" Ron looked helplessly at her. "I should just shut up."

A sly smile crept onto Shego's lips as she felt herself gain the upper hand for the first time since meeting the blond Kingsguard. "Okay," she remarked simply. "As long as you don't keep your hands to yourself," Shego almost gasped in shock as soon as she realized that she sounded like a tart. "Wait…" she choked on her words, wondering where those words came from. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she felt that Anne would be laugh her head off when she recounted this to her.

They looked at each other again, both realizing that each was blushing a furious red, before they both let out a nervous laugh. "I guess we're both new to this, huh?" Ron finally managed to say.

"Then we'll just have to learn from each other as we go along," Shego replied as she walked towards one of the doors. "Your room?"

"Uh huh," Ron nodded as he followed her.

Pushing back the door, Shego glanced around the room. The first thing that she noticed was the wafting scent of hot melted cheese in the room. Her eyes turned to spy a cheese wrap lying open on the desk next to the bed. Somehow she knew she should have expected something like that.

Noticing her eyes lingering over the cheesy snack, Ron hurriedly stepped over and grabbed the remnants and balled it up in his hands. "Sorry," he apologized meekly. "I wasn't expecting any guests… Otherwise I would have cleaned up."

Shego took a moment to take in the rest of the room. It was sparsely decorated with nothing more than a desk, chair and small pallet with an enormous footlocker at the foot of the pallet. She took a step forward and sat down gingerly on the pallet, slowly glancing around the room.

"Well?" Ron finally asked.

"What?"

"I thought you would have some comments about my room or something," Ron admitted sheepishly.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know…" Ron laughed nervously. "That it's a mess or something."

"Well, it's your room, alright," Shego remarked.

"What do you mean?"

"Simple, straightforward…" she squinted her eyes at him. "Quaint."

"Quaint?" Ron spluttered. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know…" Shego shrugged. "Just quaint, I suppose."

"Way to bruise a guy's ego," Ron groused as he plunked himself on the pallet next to her. "You know a guy's room is supposed to reflect his personality. Does that mean I'm quaint?"

"If you put it that way, I suppose it does," Shego laughed.

"Fine, fine…" Ron waved away her comment. "Shego, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, I guess…"

"How… How do you feel about me?"

The question hung awkwardly in the air as Shego realized that she had heard him say those words twice, while her own feelings were raging about like a tempest in her chest. Ron must have noticed the pained look on her face as he quickly backtracked. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to ask… I mean, not like… I was just being selfish…"

"No," Shego took a deep breath as she reached out and grabbed his hand. Clutching his fingers tightly, she willed herself to find the words. "You're right to ask. You've already told me how you felt about me and I think its only fair if I told you. I think…" she cleared her throat. "Wait, no… I _know_ I like you. But…" She felt Ron's arm stiffen which only made her hold on to his hand tighter. "But…" she said slowly. "I don't know if I love you."

She looked helplessly at Ron. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I don't even know myself… But you deserve to know the truth before this…" she fluttered her hand between the both of them. "Before this becomes anything. I don't want to hurt you or anything, but I don't even know what I feel myself!"

"Right…"

"I'm sorry, Ron," she felt a sharp pain in her chest as Ron looked dejected. "I just don't want to lie to you."

"No, thank you, Shego," Ron proffered a pained smile. "It's definitely not what I wanted to hear, but it is the truth and that's all that matters."

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay," Ron brushed aside her apologies with a warm smile. "It's a lot better than I expected anyway. All I know is that you _don't know_ whether you love me or not, so I'll just have to convince you."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"First," Ron leaned closer towards her and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. "I'm going to tell you how beautiful you are. And then I'm going to look deep into your eyes to show you that I mean those words. And then I'm going to do this." He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers.

Shego gave into the soft sensation of his lips. Slowly, the kisses turned passionate as she yearned for his touch. "God," Shego gasped for breath as she pulled away from him. "That was convincing." She looked deep into Ron's eyes as she pushed him away. "But…" she remarked sternly. "We have to slow down. I don't want to be swept away by some smooth-talking good kisser…"

"Of course," Ron replied with a smug look on his face. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Thank you," Shego smiled as she rested a hand on his chest.

"But at least we have established that I'm a damn good kisser," Ron replied cheekily.

"Don't push it…" Shego warned him with a raised eyebrow. "For all I know, you could have been practicing with all the girls in the village."

"Hey now," Ron huffed indignantly. "There's only you…"

"Really?" Shego pursed her lips skeptically. "What about that Tara girl today? She was pretty sweet on you."

"We're just friends!" Ron protested. His eyes narrowed as he spoke accusingly, "I knew it! You were jealous!"

"Come now," Shego raised her voice defensively. "You expect me to believe that you've never kissed another girl before?"

"No," Ron replied.

"Not even Kim?" the words leaped out from her mouth before she could hold her tongue.

Ron looked stunned for a moment. "No…" he whispered quietly. "Not even Kim."

Shego felt crushed by her callousness. She leaned over to hug Ron and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought her up. I know you loved her… You still love her and I am being stupid for being jealous of her." She held on helplessly, knowing that her words had hurt Ron. _Please…_ she heard herself praying, _Forgive me. _

To her relief, at last Ron placed an arm around her. "It's true…" Ron's voice sounded strained to her ears. "I still love her. But I also love you too. And I don't think I will ever forget her…"

"Stop it, Ron…" Shego silenced him with a tight squeeze. "I'm not asking you to forget her. I won't do something as selfish as making you forget your first love. I wouldn't want you to forget me either."

"I'd never forget you."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good," Shego snuggled against the man's chest. Things hadn't gotten off as well as she had hoped. They'd almost had their first fight barely minutes after baring their feelings for each other. Shego let out a small chuckle at the irony.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Shego murmured. "It's just stupid, don't you think? We've barely gotten to know each other and all we have been doing is apologizing and hurting each other. Maybe we should just…"

"Don't say it, Shego," Ron replied fiercely as he suddenly sat up. "Don't say it."

"But is it worth it?" Shego asked. "All we do is hurt each other so far…"

"I won't give up," Ron replied adamantly. "No one said it would be easy. But even though I've only known you for three days, I already know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Fine," Shego tried to sound miffed as she battled the bursting elation in her chest. "Whatever you say." She laid her head on his chest and listened closely to his heart beat and wished that she could lie like this forever. She closed her eyes and let herself drift into a restful slumber.

* * *

There was a loud banging on the front door that stirred her from her sleep. Shego raised a groggy head as she looked around and realized that she and Ron had fallen asleep on his pallet. _Dammit, _she thought to herself. _This is going to be scandalous._

"Ron…" she nudged him awake. "Ron, there's someone at the door."

"Hmm?" Ron sat up as he rubbed his tired eyes. "Comin'!" he yelled out as he slid out of the pallet and stumbled his way towards the front door. "Who is it?" he moaned out tiredly, blinking twice into the dark of the night.

"Ron!" Felix called through gasps. "There you are! I've been looking all over the village for you!"

"And you didn't think to look for me at my place first?" Ron groaned as he wiped the remaining traces of sleep from his eyes. "What is it?"

"I thought you'd be camping over at the Possibles because of that woman that you fancied… Oh…" Felix clamped his mouth shut as a mousey-haired Shego appeared from the shadows behind Ron. A sudden realization dawned on him. "Oh!" Felix exclaimed loudly.

"Shut up!" Ron growled as he punched him in the arm. "It's not what you think!"

"I don't care," Felix gave the two of them a dirty grin. "Anyway, we got trouble. Bandits!"

"Bandits?" Ron suddenly looked a lot more alert.

"Yeah," Felix explained. "Farmer Guberman saw a pack of them creeping towards the edge of the forests. We have less than an hour before they're here! The mayor's trying to round everyone up before we head for the hills."

"But there's no alarm!"

"We don't want the bandits to know that we know they're coming," Felix continued hurriedly. "Look, we got very little time, just grab whatever you can and I'll meet you at the main gathering hall."

"Wait," Ron grabbed his best friend's arm. "Wait, I got a better idea. What about if I hold them off and buy you guys more time?"

"That's insane!" Felix exploded. "There's at least a dozen of them, and one Kingsguard isn't going to stop that mob."

"No," Ron remained adamant. "No, but you'd need time to load up the wagons and gather the children. The more time I buy everyone, the greater the chance of survival."

"You can always come with us and fight anyone off if they get near," Felix offered. "You know as much as I do, Ron. What you're doing is suicidal."

"It's impossible," Ron shook his head. "Once they find you, it's over. I can't protect that many of you."

"C'mon Ron, it's not like we've never faced bandits before," Felix begged his friend. "Don't throw away your life for nothing. Not especially after you found a woman like that." He nodded over to Shego's direction.

"I'm a Kingsguard," Ron replied stoically. "I live to serve my king, my country and especially my people."

"Whatever, Ron," Felix shook his head sadly. "Look, I can't stay around to convince you. I've got to warn the rest. But we'll be waiting for you. Whether or not you decide to come. See you again, buddy." He pulled his friend into a hug.

"No problem, Felix," Ron returned the hug. "I'll be fine. Just take care of Shego."

"What?" a cold hiss breathed near the Kingsguard ear.

"You're not staying," Ron replied firmly as he turned to look her in the eye. "You're going with Felix."

"Dammit, Ron," Shego growled angrily. "I'm not some frail damsel that you can cast aside so that you can play knights and marauders! My place is by your side whether you like it or not."

"Fiery, ain't she," Felix let out a low whistle. "Look, it's not my place to get in between a quarrel like this so, excuse me." Felix cast a nervous glance over his shoulder before he hopped away on his crutches. "Good luck, Ron!" he called over his shoulder as he quickly disappeared into the shadows.

Ron barely grunted in acknowledgement of his friend's departure. He looked at Shego sternly, "You're not going to stay. I don't want to see any harm come to you."

"And do you think I want to see you hurt?" Shego raised her voice. "Do you want me to worry about you for every moment that you're away from me? Do you want me to have nightmares whether you're alive or bleeding to death in some field or gutter? Do you want to cause me so much pain and grief?"

"No," Ron hung his head remorsefully. "No, of course not."

"Then it's final," Shego summed it all up. "I'm going to fight by your side and we're going to live through this night together."

"I knew I loved you for a reason," Ron remarked with a wry smile.

"And obviously your brains isn't one of your strong points," Shego remarked curtly, as she stomped away into the house. "C'mon, we've got a village to save."

"Right," Ron meekly hurried after her into his room. Kneeling in front of his footlocker, he threw it open and rummaged around for his leather jerkin and scabbard.

Shego peered over his shoulder and asked, "Do you have any daggers in there?"

"Here," he handed her a pair of daggers over his shoulder, then a bronze short sword, he said, "Take this one too."

Drawing it out of the scabbard, Shego looked at it with a discerning eye and tested the sharpness with her thumb. Swinging it around a bit, she was satisfied with the weight and balance. "This shall have to do," she finally announced.

"Hmph," Ron grunted as he tightened his sword belt around his waist. "Just don't get yourself killed."

"I was about to say the same to you," Shego remarked.

Standing tall, Ron looked at Shego in the eye. "You sure you want to do this?"

"You leave me no choice."

"What if I say that I don't love you and that I want to break up with you?"

A glint of metal flashed through the darkened room and Ron felt the tip of her sword pricking his neck. "Then I'm going to beat you up until you take me back because you're lying!" Shego hissed angrily. Ron felt a sharp stinging slap across his face. "That," she warned him, "Was for toying with my feelings. And this," she roughly grab his collar and yanked his face close to hers, before kissing his lips.

For a moment, Ron tasted a salty dampness from her kiss and he pulled away in surprise to see her green eyes glinting in the darkness.

"This is for trying to be my valiant knight," she breathed.

"I'm sorry," Ron hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry I said such a cruel thing."

"If you want to make it up to me, then you better make it back alive," Shego replied, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

"And I will," Ron smiled back.

* * *

Shego glanced up into the night sky. She had a really bad feeling gnawing at her bones; the stars were not out, obscured by thick heavy clouds overhead. An eerie silence has descended upon the village. Shego cocked her head to the side and listened to the wind. Even the scratching sounds of insects were absent in the night, lending a somber pall casting over the village. A little shiver ran down her spine. She glanced over at Ron squinting at the dark tree line in the distance.

_He'll never see them until they're here…_ she realized as she considered how limited her human senses were. Taking a deep breath, she reached inside her for a glimmer of magic and breathed a spell extending her senses to beyond the tree line. Fifty, seventy, one hundred, one hundred and fifty yards her senses stretched. And then she felt their presence on the edge of her awareness… They were definitely out there, moving quietly towards the village.

"Town's buttoned up tight, barely a torch lit outside! Probably due to the rainstorm comin', Boss…" a sickly soft baritone murmured quietly to its neighbor. Shego guessed that the speaker was only about one hundred and eighty yards out.

"Good…" a scratchy voice noted as it hissed out an order. "You two! Load your crossbows, fire on my mark."

A shudder trembled down Shego's spine as she sniffed gingerly at the air. The smells of her prey reeked of acrid sweat, piss and dried blood. _Military deserters, and probably good ones, too!_ Shaking her head and crinkling her brow in concentration, she began counting. Each additional number made her heart sink lower and lower towards the pit of her stomach. _Eighteen, nineteen… Twenty!_ She fought the urge to curse viciously; she could have handled a dozen men on her own without a problem, but she doubted she could fight off all of them while protecting Ron.

The torches set in the ground in front of them flicked dimly as a gust of wind swept the village. It was the only source of light close by, and Ron and Shego stood in the shadows, hoping to conceal their numbers and location until the last moment. Testing her grip on her sword, she felt that the weapon was a poor substitute for her teeth and fangs. Maybe if she snuck up on him, overpowered him and knocked the Kingsguard unconscious, she could charge out there and take them all out before they knew what hit them. Twenty men, she cursed and spat at the ground in disgust.

She shut her eyes and felt a powerful twinge of despair welling up. Maybe if she… She hurriedly pushed back that thought into the deeper recesses of her mind. To reveal her true form? Out here in the open? Sure, she knew, it'd take an entire army to scratch her scales, but… When it came down to keeping her true identity a secret and saving Ron's life, what should she do? If he knew the truth, what would he think of her?

"Shego?" Ron interrupted her thoughts as he placed his hand over hers. "It's going to be alright."

"How do you know?" she remarked bitterly as she yanked her hand away. He was completely unaware of the odds they were facing and she… She felt helpless that she couldn't let him know of the danger he was in.

"I know because I'm with you," Ron gave her a brave smile. "Just stay close to me."

_No!_ Shego wanted to scream at him. _I'm going to protect you, not the other way around!_ She had never felt more terrified in her life. Not when she had personally faced, and bested, two scores of battle trained, hardened Kingsguards. Not when she had helped her older and younger brothers face down almost an eighth of King Drakken's army and all of his mages. Not even when she fought over to her fallen older brother's side as he died to protect her.

Suddenly she felt a change in the wind. "They're coming," Shego remarked as she hefted her bronze sword in one hand and a dagger in the other.

"How do you know?"

"I…" Shego racked her mind for a convenient lie. "I heard them moving…" she replied lamely. Somewhere on the back of her mind, a small snide voice remarked, _At least that wasn't the first lie you told him._

Ron cocked his head to the side and listened closely to the night. Shaking his head, he replied, "I don't hear a thing… But since you said it, it must be true."

_Way to go, Ron_. Shego thought bitterly to herself, _Way to twist the dagger in my heart._ Hardening her voice, she repeated herself, "Here they come…"

The rustling of the grass was a dead-giveaway, and without hesitation, Shego flung her dagger with deadly accuracy into the darkness. The tangy smell of blood instantly filled the air as the bandit clutched his throat and gurgled as blood gushed from his mouth. He dropped to his knees and was dead before the rest of his body hit the groundl none of the bandits saw so much as a shadow of the brave couple that stood between them and the village. His death brought a surge of irrational hope to Shego; maybe they stood a chance of victory.

"Dammit, ambush, idiots!" the scratchy tenor cried out. "They know we're here! Watch for the shadows! We'd teach those peasants a thing or two…" The chorus of almost militaristic affirmative replies dashed Shego's hopes of the bandits cutting and running. Then two loud clacks and the whistles of two crossbow blots broke the night air, one of the bolts coming startlingly close to Shego's head

She readied herself as she drew her second and last dagger from her belt. The puny weapon felt so useless in her hand. "Ron…" she breathed as she thought of what words she wanted him to hear.

"Save it, Shego," Ron replied as the silhouette of one of them stepped abreast the line of torches. "Because whatever you have to say to me, you can say it after we win."

Before Shego had a chance to say a word, Ron charged forward as he locked his arm behind his iron shield and collided into the bandit. Caught by surprise, the blow struck the body of the bandit and knocked all the wind out of him, driving him to the ground while wheezing for breath. Before he could recover, Ron had already wrapped both his hands around the pommel of his sword and stabbed through the man's windpipe.

Pushing his boot against the lifeless body, he yanked his bloodied sword out just in time for a heavy mace to slam into his shield. Ron winced in pain from the arm numbing blow, before roaring in anger. He stepped forward and slashed at the darkness, earning a startled, gurgling exclamation as his blade sliced across the chest of a bandit backing up the mace wielder.

"He's a Kingsguard!" someone yelled, before the same high pitched voice belonging to the leader of band of ruffians gruffly rebuked the man. "There's only one of him! Get at him, you flea-bag scum!"

Ron took another tentative step towards the voices, except that the heavy head of the mace swung out again and he could barely dodge it. It struck his sword, almost shattering the blade, except that Ron quickly twisted his wrist out of the way and quickly taking a step back as he squinted into the dark to see his opponent.

As Ron tried to catch his breath, a brute of a man stepped out of the shadows hefting a double-handed axe that seemed as large as blond Kingsguard. Ron cursed as the man swung down with all his might at the exact place where Ron had leaped to. And just at that last possible moment, Ron caught a lithe shadow darting out towards the man. Shego moved with fluid accuracy as she flicked her insignificant bronze short sword at the tendons of the huge man's wrist. With a cry of pain, the heavy axe slipped from his grasp and tumbled dangerously close to Ron's foot before embedding its vicious-looking edge a good six inches into the ground. Just as she moved in for the kill, she felt the air tremble around her and instinctively whirled to the side. Barely just in time to feel a crossbow bolt flash by her, nicking the strands of her flowing black hair.

Spinning around, she plunged the blade of the dagger into the midriff of the brute of a man she had earlier disarmed, and using the force behind her momentum, disemboweled the man who could only clutch at his slippery insides as he fell to his knees. She stole a precious instant of time to glance in the direction of Ron. A knot of fear tightened around her throat as she saw him being pushed back by the onslaught of two men ganging up on him as a third trying to circle around him carrying a dagger coated with a deadly looking paste.

Desperately, she lunged forward and plunged her dagger into the base of the neck of the bandit who'd almost slipped behind Ron. Screaming in agony, he crumpled backwards, his body weight wrenching her last dagger out of her hand. She cursed as she flexed her fingers of her left hand. The bronze sword, the last of her remaining weapon, felt even more useless than before. However, she could not spare herself a moment to pick up a new weapon as she stepped up to engage one of the two men pushing Ron back.

Gliding into the sword swing of one of the men, she parried the blow easily with her left arm, before thrusting her sword in between the exposed ribs of the man. As she slid the blade out of the body, there was a violent gout of blood as the man's punctured lung collapsed and splashed blood over her face. To her side, Ron had just finished his opponent off. He bashed in a man's skull with his shield only to grimace in pain. His left forearm was certainly broken and he was only moving it by sheer force of will.

Taking a moment, she counted the number of fallen enemies and guessed that there were still fifteen able-bodied bandits lurking somewhere out there in the dark. Her distracted thoughts almost cost her, as that heavy mace swung out of the dark again. She barely had time parry the blow before her bronze sword was folded into a useless, misshapen length of metal. "No!" she howled in despair as she threw away her broken weapon.

"Yes, little girl!" the leader's scratchy tenor creaked out. Shego recoiled slightly as the huge man stepped into the flickering flames of the torches hefting a large mace with both hands, a manic grin etched on his face. "And we're gonna have some fun with your corpse when we're done with the Kingsguard!"

Shego wanted to scoff, the man obviously thinking the woman would be an easy kill after disarming her. Unfortunately for him, he stepped a little too close. Shego jumped towards the man with her right hand outstretched. Throwing caution to the wind, she breathed a small spell which hardened her nails into vicious claws before raking them across the man's face, taking extra care to gouge his eyes out. He let out a howl of pain as he dropped his heavy weapon, giving Shego enough time to leap at the man and tear his throat out with her claws.

A fountain of blood spurted over her face. Barely taking a moment to wipe the blood out of her eyes, she threw herself with bestial abandon at her next enemy. She paused, spinning away when two sharp cracks and the whistling of crossbow bolts being loosed. The bolt aimed for her just missed, but her jubilation was short lived as a familiar voice crying in pain rang out across the battlefield.

_No! _she screamed in her mind. Turning in horror, she saw Ron kneeling bravely, not a hint of the fear she could smell from him showing on his face. His face was instead a study of determination and rage, as he swung his sword up and buried it deep in his opponent's guts, despite the broken crossbow bolt sticking out grotesquely from his left thigh. Ron had already thrown his shield to the side as his left arm hung uselessly by his side. He was left defenseless as another axeman stepped from the shadows, the huge weapon raised and ready to behead the blond Kingsguard. And to make matters worse, Shego heard the distinctively clacking of winches as the crossbowmen hurriedly cranked a fresh new bolt into their weapons.

_I've been reckless!_ In her desperation to end the battle quickly, she'd strayed too far from Ron. Cursing her stupidity, she threw her head back and without hesitation belched out a jet of emerald green flame which knocked the axeman off his feet, setting the screaming bandit alight before falling over. The sudden burst of eerie green flame lit up the field and everyone turned to look at her with stunned amazement.

Shock and awe was carved all over their faces, and Shego knew that it was useless to pretend anymore. Growling in pain, her limbs suddenly cracked and shifted, a glimmer of serpentine sheen spreading across her exposed body. Her fingers morphed into long, grim talons, each as sharp as the keenest magical sword and more than enough to eviscerate a man. Her face grew gaunt and seemed to lengthen as a reptilian snout grew from her mouth and nose. Her eyes shimmered, the beautiful green spreading to encompass the whole of the eyes except for the serpentine slits of her pupils, which seemed blacker than the darkest of nights.

Her hair pulled in close to the back of her head, and she began to grow larger, her clothing ripping apart with an explosive, tearing pop. As her hair finally reached her now scaly, reptilian pate, the back of her head distended, shooting out into a gracefully curved, wide hood. From the back of her flared hood, two viciously sharp horns sprouted, curving slightly inwards and back.

Knots of bones began to protrude from her back and along the quickly growing tail, at the end of which was a pair of wickedly sharp, axe like protrusions. Her growl of pain became an agonized, rage filled howling as a pair of leathery bat-like wings sprouted from her back as she grew still larger. Larger than a horse, larger than a cottage! Until finally her terrible transformation was complete.

She growled again, the low tone more felt than seen as she stood towering over the stunned bandits. She was just over twenty feel tall at the shoulder, her slender yet powerful neck and tail thirty and fifty feet long in turn, and her body almost thirty-five feet in length. Flicking out her stiffened wings, she was easily seventy feet from tip to tip. As she spread her wings and roared her loathing at the men that were trying to take her Ron from her.

Without waiting, she glared at the two crossbowmen where they stood. Her left arm reached out faster than any snake as she grabbed the nearer man, spearing her claws through his lower back, before ripping him apart in an eruption of blood and offal. Flicking the remains aside, she lunged at the second man. Her jaws closed down viciously in a snapping of bone and sinew.

The men, bereft of their leader and confronted with a vision out of their worst nightmares, began to step back uncertainly. Then, they watched in amazement as one foolhardy soul stepped forwards. He roared out a war-cry as he hefted an axe on the run. Before he could even swing the axe back, Shego's head snapped out. Her jaw, large enough to swallow a horse, opened wide and snapped shut, her jawline neatly bisecting his body. She jerked her head up and shook it like a cat with a mouse, half of the man's body flying unseen into a field, before she spat his corpse towards the remaining men confronting her and Ron.

"Run!" someone squealed in panic, even as her tail swept down and across towards two other men who were too slow to flee. The first was flung a good fifty feet in the air and landed with an ungainly crunch on the ground as the impact broke his spine in three different places, immediately killing him. The second man was simply knocked to the ground breathless, as Shego brought a large clawed foot crashing down on the man's body. Watching the rest of the bandits fleeing in terror, Shego drew her head back as she gulped back a lungful of air and let another deadly stream of eerie emerald flames spout from her mouth, engulfing the still flying victim of her tail and a few hapless stragglers. Satisfied that the remaining two would continue their flight and never return, she finally turned her head to look at the bloodied Kingsguard.

He looked so battered and broken, with his left arm hanging uselessly by his side, while he tried to steady himself with his sword. That tight grip in her chest finally loosened, and she felt a rare elation rush to her head. She surged forward to embrace him in her arms when the blond Kingsguard stumbled back suddenly and raised his sword against her. Eyeing the tip of his blade, she cursed herself as she realized now how she must have looked to him.

Gazing sadly at the man, their eyes met. His brown eyes that once held that unflappable conviction of his feelings for her were gone, replaced by a wide-eyed look of surprise, fear and confusion. As she opened her mouth to speak, she could only elicit a guttural growl from her throat that would make a man shake in his boots. Cursing herself, she snapped her jaws shut and turned away from the Kingsguard. Her eyes were starting to cloud over as she felt the pain of a thousand spears stabbing into her heart.

"Shego?"

The dragon hesitantly looked back in surprise at the man, making a very conscious effort not to make any startling movements. The blond Kingsguard still gripped his sword in his hand, regarding her warily as a dangerous beast. But his voice still called out, "Shego… Is that you?"

She hesitated for a moment, before telepathically projecting her mindvoice into his thoughts. I'm s_orry, Ron… I didn't mean you to find out this way…_

Ron's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Sorry?" he echoed her softly. His sword quivered a little. "What do you mean? Explain yourself!" the man's voice rose into a thunderous demand that made Shego flinch.

_I see… _Shego looked down sadly at the man, feeling her heart starting to ache again. Quickly, she turned away and bounded along the road with large leaps, between the trees that lined the path leading up to Middlevale. Ignoring the cries of her name behind her, she curled her body up on her haunches before launching herself skywards. Flapping her great leathery wings, she flew northwards to the looming shadows of the mountain range, steeling her heart as she left the man she love behind.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I almost gave up writing this part. For the love of Shego, (yes, yes, I'm crushing like a Twilight fangirl) I can't write battle-scenes for nuts and nutsacks, whatever that means. I think this would be the fourth complete rewrite. I blame alcohol for that. Wait, I blame alcohol for the WAFF-y parts coming up ahead. Bah. But I was thinking, enough with the rewrites. I could keep on polishing this forever and it would still pretty much look the same. Well, slight improvement, but at least I can bear to look myself in the mirror now.

Oh yes, penultimate chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

_It was finally dark when Katherine Stoppable finished her story of her great grandfather. Indeed there was a lot more to the man than the legends suggested. He was more than just the last dragonslayer that ever lived; after his exploits as a Kingsguard, he had returned to Middleton and became a benefactor for one of the biggest orphanages in the country. He'd also led a small militia against the bandits in the dark woods and scattered many of them, bringing a modicum of peace to the north. _

_As he grew older, his deeds easily won him adulation among the people of Middlevale and he became the mayor of Middleton. Along with his deputy mayor, a Bonnie Rockwaller, from the privilege Rockwaller family, they developed Middlevale into what it is today; one of the busiest trading posts in the north. And finally, at a ripe old age of 74, he passed away, leaving behind a legacy that has since become legend. _

"_Thank you very much, Miss Stoppable," I nodded my head as I finally set down my pen and gazed at my notes. "There's just so much here to write and I can't wait to start writing." _

"_It's my pleasure," Katherine beamed at me, with her charming smile and twinkling emerald green eyes. _

"_One last thing," I wanted to ask. "I've heard so much about the exploits of Ron Stoppable, but almost nothing about his personal life." _

"_What do you want to know?" _

"_Umm…" I scratched my head, thinking back on all the facts I could remember about Ron Stoppable. "Like what about his wife? There's almost nothing mentioned of your great-grandmother." _

_Katherine laughed. "As my mother would tell me, she was a very quiet but strong woman, even in her old age. She was content to let Ron bask in the limelight, although he would never allow anyone to forget her contributions too. She was always by his side, until the very end." _

"_Really?" _

"_Yes, it would seem that nothing could ever come between the two of them," Katherine explained with a smile. "My mother told me that the night my great-grandfather passed on, she sat at his bedside for the entire night. And when my grandfather discovered them the next morning, they had both passed on together, hand in hand." _

"_Wow…" I whistled as my pen flashed, taking down more notes at a breakneck speed. "Not only a hero to the people, but also a romantic at heart." Tapping my pen on the table, I spoke again, "I don't mean to be rude, but you do know that there has been some quarters who accused your great-grandfather of being a fraud."_

"_Excuse me?" _

"_I don't mean to offend, it's just that the dragon's body has never been found."_

"_My great-grandfather did kill a dragon," Katherine remarked tersely. "He brought its heart as proof to King Drakken, and unless my father's accusers would also accuse King Drakken of lying, then I dare them to repeat their words again before a court of law." _

"_I know," I apologized. "It's just that, don't you think it's strange that a dragon's body could have just disappeared like that?" _

"_Maybe it was just lost," Katherine shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Unless you're suggesting that a dragon could live without a heart, then I'm certain that the dragon is dead." _

"_Right, right…" I said hurriedly. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to know what's your take on that." _

"_It's okay," Katherine replied. "It's just that after so many years, people still doubt the achievements of my great-grandfather. But no matter what, there will always be disbelievers." _

"_I understand." _

"_So, Mr. Load…"_

"_Wade, please." _

"_Wade, would you like some more soup?" _

"_That would be wonderful," I replied with a smile. "Thank you very much." _

"_It's no trouble at all," she nodded her head gracefully as she got up from the kitchen table and strode towards the stove. She clearly was a very beautiful person, I had to admit. Her long jet-black hair reached down to her waist, and she had a glow around her. If I didn't have Joss, I would… I shook my head at the thought of it and smiled wryly to myself. _

_I gazed through my notes again. Like most of the official accounts, there was very little detail to the battle that Ron fought with Sherainz. That would have been a ballad sung countless of times. But then again, since Ron rode off to fight the dragon which attacked his village on his own, I don't think there were any reliable witnesses. _

_Suddenly, a small green flash caught my eye, and I looked up to see Katherine bent over at the stove, with a small jet of green flame escaping her lips, licking the pot. Hurriedly, I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. As I blinked, she was standing at the stove, gently stirring the pot, while humming a soft tune. It must have been my over-active imagination running wild again this late at night, and I found myself yawning. _

"_Katherine," I asked. "Tell me more about your great-grandmother, Ron's wife. What did she look like, and where did she come from?" _

_Katherine walked towards the table, and set down a bowl of hot soup. "My grandmother said that I have her raven-black hair and emerald eyes," she replied with a smile. "But she never talked much about her grandparents. All I know about my great-grandmother was that she was from the north, and she had met my great-grandfather after her brothers were killed." _

"_What was her name?" _

"_Her name was Shego." _

"_Last name?" _

"_I… I don't remember…" Katherine wracked her brains for an answer. "I guess she left behind everything in her past when she married my great-grandfather."_

* * *

She had long sensed his presence, even before he was anywhere nearby. In her draconian form, she drew on the full range of her senses and could hear the rustling of grass and snapping of twigs miles away as he crawled through the underbrush, climbing the foothills and descending lower reaches of the mountain. She could hear him as he stopped to catch his breath after stumbling through the small streams and rooks that crisscrossed the hills. And all she could do was lay motionless, barely breathing as she waited, _prayed_, for his presence to drift further away from her. It had been painful for her. It had been two weeks already. He wouldn't give up. Shego cursed silently. But she was helpless to do anything. She could only hide and wait until he gave up and went back home.

_He was only human, after all_! For some unfathomable reason, she felt almost certain that he had some sort of sixth sense and that it was only a matter of time before he had found her. He had come dangerously close thrice already, all by seemingly dumb luck on his part. She allowed a slow, careful sigh of agony to escape her lips, lifting her head to sniff the afternoon wind wafting into the cave and listened.

She could still hear him a ways off. He was still out there, breathing hard. His labored breaths were punctuated by a sharp wheezing sound. He was already at the very edge of his limits. The Kingsguard had barely stopped to eat, drink or sleep. Yet he'd been talking to Rufus to keep his spirits up as he droned on about the inanities of Middlevale. How the crops in farmer Guberman's fields were growing. His amusement at Bonnie's desire to meet the author of her favorite romance books, which were written by his long dead love Kim's bookish cousin. Tara's new beau. Felix's latest adventure. Mrs. Possible's meatloaf and the orphanage…

Shego shifted her long serpentine head in panic as Ron's voice suddenly cut off short. She could no longer hear his or Rufus' footsteps, yet their mingled scents lingered vaguely in the wind. A cold fear suddenly gripped her heart as she wondered whether the blond had stumbled into a ravine. She strained her ears and tried to drown out the other distracting noises of the forests.

A feeling of dread started to envelope her heart when she could no longer pick up a hint of the man's presence. She shifted her bulk towards the mouth of the cave wondering if he had at last collapsed from fatigue. As she took a step forward to the light, a voice called out suddenly, startling her.

"Shego!" Ron's voice rang out from near the entrance of the cave.

She stiffened and pressed her back against the cavern wall. _How did he find her?_ It was impossible! She had been careful with her tracks. There should have been no way for him to know that she was here, let along able to sneak up on her like that! But then again, he had this penchant for dumb luck…

"Shego! I know you're in here…" Ron yelled out again as his silhouette appeared against the bright backdrop that was the mouth of the cave.

From the depth of darkness, she gazed longingly at the shadow. She wanted to rush forward and throw her arms around him, god be damned that she was a dragon. Yet she restrained herself. There was only so much wishful thinking she could let herself indulge in. From a distance, she studied his figure; her verdant emerald slit eyes easily made out the sling around his neck, cradling his broken left arm. A brief stab of guilt washed over her.

_Ron, you deserve better, _she thought to herself.

Ron took a large step into the cave as his eyes gained a small measure of adjustment to the cave. He couldn't step in further yet, but it was obvious he was anxious to. Instead, he used his right hand to draw his sword from its scabbard, the screech of metal bouncing off the walls. "Shego, I know you're in there," his voice again echoed flatly across the cavern. "And I'm not leaving until I see you."

A dry feeling seized up her throat as she gazed at the glint of metal in his hands. _Damn him for that stubborn streak of his!_ Shego fumed as his words struck home. It was that same stubborn streak that got her into this mess in the first place. The way he'd thrown himself in harm's way just to protect her… Even though she hadn't needed protecting! The way he'd ingratiated himself with her as a traveling companion all the way to Middlevale. The way he had chased her across the mountains for the past two weeks…

He stood unmoving and stared into the depths of the cave watchfully. Finally, his eyes grew accustomed to the dark and he watched for any shadow of movement. Suddenly, he saw a shimmer of movement at the back of the cave. "Shego!" Ron cried as he took a few steps forward.

_Ron_… She finally broke her silence. Ron seemed to relax ever so slightly as the echo of her mindvoice filled his head. _Leave me alone._

"Not until I see you!" Ron yelled out.

Slowly a large shadow shifted as it snaked toward the front of the cave. Ron gazed up as the green and black draconian form of Shego seemed to fill the cavern. The ground seemed to tremble as she paced purposefully towards him. It was the first time he had seen her up close, and Ron instinctively gulped at the enormity of her. His eyes darted towards the dragon's head which was larger than a wagon; her maw was large enough to swallow Rufus and him whole, twice over. He glanced nervously down at the claw that was barely a few feet away from him. Each of the five obsidian talons were sharp enough to rend apart even the thickest suit of armor.

Shego looked down at the blond Kingsguard and she could literally smell the fear wafting off him. Despite the fact that she knew this was the normal reaction humans had for her, she cringed at the knowledge. Despite herself, she brought her muzzle down to his level and bared her fangs to reveal two rows of razor-sharp teeth. Then she let loose a blood-curdling roar, half expecting him to turn around and flee.

_Leave!_ Shego squeezed her eyes shut as she barked angrily at the man. _I don't ever want to see you again!_

For a moment, Ron felt a strong urge to flee for his life and scream his head off. Her sharp jaws snapped so close to him that he could have been cut in half if he had taken as much as half a step forward. Yet he stood his ground, dispelling the urgings of his common sense to run away. Gulping down his fear, he lifted his chin and stared back at her. "Not until I get some answers," Ron demanded as his adjusted the grip on his sword. "Why'd you run?"

_You fool! _Shego brought herself to sneer at the man. _What did you think was going to happen? A human falling in love with a dragon?_ Shego suddenly slammed her foreleg on the ground dangerously close to Ron and the tremor from the blow rattled his nerves. _Nothing good will ever happen out of it. Now leave me alone!_ She growled threateningly at the man.

"No!" Ron gulped as he held his sword tentatively. "Not until we talk, Shego…"

_My name is not Shego!_ Her mindvoice screamed. _My __truename is Sherainz, daughter of Ghordun, son of Isolith! Shego was just the name of a weak, sniveling illusion of a human being that never existed! There is no Shego here to speak to you!_

Ron winced as the scream of her mindvoice tore through his head. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the fearsome beast before him, adamantly glaring with green-glowing eyes and small puffs of smoke trailing from her nostrils. "No…" Ron steadied his voice as he shook his head. "That's not true. Shego is real. She is as real as you are. She _is_ you! She's a beautiful strong woman who is not afraid to speak her mind or fall in love…"

Shego bellowed a mocking laugh. _Love? __Is that what you think, you fool? Clearly, her loving you was a mistake! She knew nothing about love! Nothing! She is how I imagined you weak humans were in your strange ritualistic courtships! __A figment of my imagination brought to life! So tell me, human, _her mindvoice grated mockingly, _how does it feel to fall in love with something that does not exist?_

"But Shego _does_ exist!" Ron retorted angrily. "She exists because her feelings exist! I have memories of her, I remember the things she likes, the things she wishes she could do and even the things she finds annoying! She isn't just some figment of your cruel imagination; she's real! She exists there, somewhere in you! You know everything about Shego, don't you? Somewhere deep inside you, she's there, isn't she?"

_Feh! _Shego growled foully. _Is that what you think? That Shego does not exist! Shego is a lie!_

"I don't believe that!" Ron challenged her. "I believe that Shego had feelings for me!"

_Lies!_ Shego blurted out angrily. _I never felt anything for you…_

"I?" Ron looked at her strangely. "Is that you answering, Shego?"

Shego bit her mental tongue as she cursed her slip of the tongue. _Damn you, that's _not_ what I meant!_

Looking closely at her, he asked, "Then who am I talking to now? Shego, or would you prefer that I call you Sherainz now?"

_No!_ Shego's eyes flared at his question. She raised one clawed hand above the blond Kingsguard, threatening to smash his feeble human body into paste, before hesitating for a moment. Instead, she slammed her claw into the ground, throwing up bits of stones and dust into the air. Hissing in anger, she spat. _Just… Get out of here before I kill you._

"Okay then… _Sherainz_…" Ron spat out. Ron hid a brief flare of triumph as the use of her truename struck her like a bolt of lightning. "If that's how you want to play, then I'm going to call your bluff."

Shego couldn't bring herself to say a word without breaking down. Clenching her jaw, she forced her muscles to tense and regarded the Kingsguard.

Ron held up his sword in his right hand before he suddenly drew back with all his might and threw it into the darkness of the cave behind Shego. The metal clanged noisily against the stone floor, and the echoes reverberated around then. "So Shego," he spoke, a little tremble creeping into his voice. "I'm going to bet everything I have and lay my heart out in the open." He drew in a deep breath before yelling at the top of his lungs. "I love you, Shego! Do you hear me? I love you and there's nothing you can do to change that! Not even if you change into a dragon and fly away! So if I'm stupid for falling in love with you and if you don't feel _anything_ at all for me, then kill me!"

_What?_ Shego didn't even bother disguising the shock in her voice.

"If you're right and I'm wrong, then Shego doesn't exist and you don't have any feelings for me. So you can just kill me right now for bothering you," Ron went on. "After all, if you feel nothing for me, then it should be easy for you. So what's it going to be?"

_You're crazy!_

"No, I'm not crazy. I'm in love."

_No…_ Shego's eyes widened at the conviction in his declaration. Shaking her head mournfully, she lowered her hands to the cave floor, her graceful neck drawing her head down next to her hands as she stared at the floor, _No, no, no… It wasn't supposed to be like this…_

As she gathered her magic around her, her body shimmered a little as it started to shrink, the black-green scales which covered her body faded away into pale skin. Her draconian limbs shrunk and grew slender as long black tresses streamed forth from her scalp, until finally, Shego's naked human form knelt on the cavern floor where her proud draconian form once towered.

"Shego!" Ron called as he ran up to her, quickly removing his cloak to throw it around her shoulders for warmth and to protect her modesty, "It's alright, Shego, I'm here…" he cooed as he carefully wrapped his arms around her.

"Dammit, Ron," Shego whispered sadly as she looked downcast. Glancing up at the blond Kingsgsuard who was embracing her, she pressed herself tightly against him, sorely missing the warmth of his body. "Dammit… I must be crazy too…" Tilting her face up, she pressed her lips against his hungrily, as a lone tear streaked down her cheek. As she let herself adrift in the passion of his kisse, she began to feel the feelings of doubt well up again inside her. Breaking off suddenly, she opened her eyes and gently pressed her finger against his lips. "Why, Ron? Why did you come after me?"

"Because I love you," Ron whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers, "Isn't that good enough a reason? I'd be the biggest damned fool in the kingdom if I let you go."

"You shouldn't have come," Shego choked back a sobbed as she pressed her face tightly against Ron's shoulder, clutching the hem of his tunic tightly, "It is impossible for us to be together."

"Why do you say that?"

"Isn't it obvious? Humans and dragons are natural enemies! We can't coexist in peace together!" Shego exclaimed, "Humans hunt dragons, dragons kill humans! There is no other way!"

"That's not true! Humans and dragons have lived with each other for many centuries before…" Ron bit his lip. He understood now, that it had been just over a decade ago when King Drakken announced dragons were a scourge and had to be wiped out. He held Shego tighter in his arms, "No, I don't believe it. It doesn't have to be that way…"

"Does it, Ron?" she asked sadly as she caressed his face, "Your entire village knows that I'm a dragon by now; they must have seen me flying away. Do you think they can accept a deadly beast like me among them?"

"Are you kidding me?" Ron exclaimed out loud, "That's not all they want to do; they wanted me to bring you back and throw you a banquet!"

"What?" Shego looked surprised, "Why?"

"Because you got to be a damned blind fool not to realize that you saved the village!" Ron laughed out, "Everyone's been talking about you for days! How you scared those bandits away and rescued my sorry blond ass."

"Really?" Shego whispered to herself in disbelief. "But didn't a dragon destroy your village five years ago?"

"So?" Ron retorted incredulously. "Was it you?"

"N-no…" Shego stammered, "But it could have been me! I've done my fair share of horrible deeds, I've scorched farmer's fields in retaliation and I've wrecked villages in cold vengeance after my brothers were slain. I have so much blood on my hands that… Would you find it so easy to forgive me if it was me who killed Kim, your first love?"

Ron shut his eyes as he thought about her words, before he answered, "Easy? No… But… I would, if you did, and I _will_ forgive you, for whatever else you've done."

"How? How could you?"

"Because it's the right thing to do!" Ron exclaimed, "That is what Kim would have wanted me to do anyway! Humans and dragons have been at each other's throats for so long that… Hell, Shego, don't you think it's a little pointless anymore to continue this blood feud? All I know is that I don't want to lose another woman... Dragon…" he threw up his hands helplessly as he gestured at Shego. "Whatever… You! I don't want to lose you, another someone I love, all because of this stupid idea that someone got into his head that knights must kill dragons and dragons must eat princesses!"

"We don't eat princesses," Shego narrowed her eyes, "We prefer a prized bull or a fat, juicy pig than some scrawny shrieking bitch any day."

"See?" Ron declared, "There you go! Break that stereotype! I don't care anymore! All I know is that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you!"

"But what would your family and friends say?" Shego shuddered in his arms as she thought of the betrayal they must have felt when they learnt that she was a dragon.

"It's okay," Ron explained, "Felix, Mr and Mrs P and Tara are okay with it. Bonnie's a little shaken, butc'mon! This is the stuff of romance she's been swooning over… And Felix? Dammit, Shego, Felix was the first one who told me to haul my ass out here to look for you otherwise he'd do it himself!"

"Felix said that?"

"Felix…" Ron sighed as he recalled his best friend's words. "Felix said one thing that made all the sense to me after I was shell-shocked when you flew off like that. He said someone who could feel love can't be all that bad."

"But… Why? His legs… A dragon almost killed him…"

"So?" Ron shrugged nonchalantly, "Just because he's been hurt by a dragon, doesn't mean that he's going to hate all dragons for life, right? It's Just like hating all human beings just because a bunch of lowlife bandits decide to attack the village! Or hating all Kingsguards because some of them kill dragons!"

Shego blushed furiously as she recalled her initial animosity towards the blond Kingsguard. "It would be understandable if I was hated," she turned away from his gaze, "I probably deserve it anyway…"

"No!" Ron growled, holding her away enough to stare hard into her eyes, "You're wrong!" Ron sighed, lowering his voice and softening his gaze as he continued with a sigh, "No one hates you and everyone's waiting for you to come home."

"Home? That's a nice thought… But… Thank you, Ron," Shego smiled to herself as the dread clouding her heart slipped away, "It's enough for me… Just knowing that you… I just needed to know whether you would still love me even when you found out the truth about me."

"What are you talking about, Shego?"

"It's just…" her voice faltered a little. "I can't go home with you."

"Why not?" Ron cried out. "Is it something I said? Or something I did? Or didn't do?"

"No, Ron," Shego smiled sadly as she rested her hand over his, "It's just that word would have gone out by now that a dragon has been sighted up north. You know what that means. The sellswords, bounty hunters and mercenaries _will_ descend on Middlevale like a plague looking for rich rewards. And then the king's armies would set up camp up north and make life for the villagers harder…"

"We will move away from the village if we have to, then! You can hide as a human being, cant you?" Ron replied fiercely, "I couldn't… I _never_ want to be without you, not again."

"No! I couldn't…" Shego 's eyes blazed for a moment, before she relaxed in his arms, "I don't want to take you away from your family. Anyway, it doesn't matter. It's only a matter of time before my secret gets out," Shego pointed out sadly, "Everyone will know that I've been hiding as a human. King Drakken would round all the villagers up… He'd force them to speak under his mages eyes, or execute everyone one by one until I'm found… You may be willing to risk your life for me, but would you risk your village for me?"

"No…" Ron shook his head vehemently. "There's got to be some way…"

"No, Ron," Shego shook her head sadly, "It is my fate to be hunted down and slain like a beast. There is nothing you and I can do about it." She looked at his face and proffered a weak smile, "I've thought about it for days, Ron. There's no way we can be together. I'm just happy to know you, Ron."

"No!" Ron cried out. "That's quitter talk! You can't give up! I will not allow you to die!"

Shego closed her eyes as a smile lingered on her lips. "It's okay, Ron. You don't know how happy you make me feel," she raised a finger to touch his lips, before her smile faded, "If only you were a dragon…"

"Huh? Why does it matter whether I'm a dragon or not?" Ron asked.

"Because…" Shego fell silent as she brushed his words away, "It doesn't matter anyway, Ron. You're not a dragon and nothing can be done…"

"Why? What's your plan? Tell me, Shego," Ron shook her shoulders a little, "I'm not giving up you up without a fight!"

"It's…" Shego's feelings raged inside herself as she wondered whether to tell him or not, "It's just… I was thinking a few days ago… Whether there was a way to fake my death…"

"Yes! Let's do that!" Ron exclaimed in excitement. "How do we do that?"

"We can't. King Drakken is no fool," Shego sighed, "We would have to give him some sort of trophy as proof of my death… And there's no way we can magically conjure one up to fool him or his mages…"

"What does this have to do with me being a dragon then?" Ron asked.

"I was thinking…" Shego bit her lip, "I was thinking that you could cut out my heart and present it to King Drakken."

"What?" Ron recoiled in horror, "Are you crazy? Why would I want to do something like that? I could never bring myself to hurt you!"

"No… No…" Shego smiled to herself, "It's just that if you were a dragon, then I wouldn't die…"

"Wait, how does that make sense?"

"It's just…" Shego sucked in a deep breath, "There's this bonding ritual that magically binds the lifeforce of two dragons… Two truemates, as we call them… Two dragons who love each other so much that they would pledge their destinies together would undergo ritual… It's a joining that ties the future of both dragons together as one… It's like… Well, some of the words spoken are '…for better or for worse, in sickness and in health until death claims you.', but it's more…"

"Huh? Wait… That sounds familiar. It sounds like a wedding vow…"

"It…" A crimson flush spread over Shego's pale cheeks as she turned her face away, "I've heard a few human weddings, and I suppose you humans do have a similar ritual… But without the magical binding…"

"How would that save you?"

"Because our lifeforce would be one..." Shego squeezed her eyes shut as she spoke, "According to magical theory, you could cut my heart out and I could still live because we share a single lifeforce; I can't die unless you die too… And vice versa…"

"According to magical theory?"

"I don't know!" Shego exclaimed in frustration, "That's what I was told, what I understand from my readings… It's probably just a dumb idea anyway! I've only heard about it and read about the process before, I've never seen it done! Anyway, most dragons go through their whole lives without finding their truemates. It could be just some dumb story for young lovestruck teenage dragons…"

"So let me get this straight," Ron spoke slowly, "To save your life, we've got to convince Kiing Drakken that you're dead by presenting a trophy, in this case, your heart to him. But before we can do that, we've got to magically bind our lifeforce together by getting married?"

Shego's heart almost skipped a beat when he said the M-word. "N-… Yeah…" she nodded sheepishly as she tried not to look at his eyes. Sighing, she looked away bashfully, "Look, it's a dumb idea anyway… You're not a dragon…"

"Does it have to be between two dragons?" Ron asked, "Couldn't it work with a human too?"

"Err…" Shego thought for a moment, "Magically speaking, all living beings have the same lifeforce so it may be possible… It's just that… It can't be done without complete mutual trust! It could kill them, or one of them, driving the other insane! That's why it's rarely been done, even among dragons."

"So it's possible between a dragon and a human, then?" Ron asked.

"Maybe…" Shego sounded hesitant, "But… I don't want to risk losin-…"

"Then let's do it!" Ron interrupted, his eyes trusting as he stared into hers.

"Huh… Wh-…" Shego turned a stunned stare at the blond. She stammered, "Are… Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Ron replied confidently as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I'd try anything to save your life."

"Y-… You do know what you're asking, right?" Shego's voice faltered as she blushed again. She clutched her hands together and sat up, pushing the blond Kingsguard away from her so she could stand and pace, "It's… You're… I…"

"I know, Shego," Ron gave her a knowing smile. Taking a deep breath, Ron stood himself and grasped her hands in his, pouring all of his intense feelings into his words and his gaze, "Shego… Will you marry me?"

"I… I…" Shego boggled at the man proposing to her, a dragon. "A-… Are you sure? You barely eve know me? Don't you want to have a normal relationship with a normal woman like Tara or Monique, or even Bonnie?"

"Dammit, Shego," Ron raised his voice, "How many times do I have to tell you? I love you! I can't even come close to saying how much I love you, but hell, I'm just going to say it anyway. I love you more than I love Good Cheese Wraps, and that's more than a lot! So yeah, I'm sure I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, that's why I want to marry you. Sure, if marrying you saves your life, then it's only just an added bonus. But I am damn sure I want to have children with you, grow old with you and spend my golden years with you! So what say you, Shego? Will you be my truemate?"

"I…" Shego smiled to herself as she felt his hand in hers. "I do… I will, Ron Stoppable…" And together, in the darkness of the cave, their lips met in the slow, tender caress of two souls in love.

* * *

Ron strode into the grand hall carrying a large, bloodied sack in his hand. Even though the blood seeped through the seams and stained the carpet, he paid no attention as he limped up to the throne. Everyone, from the noblemen to the jesters, from the ordained knights to the courtesans, and even King Drakken watched as this audacious Kingsguard barged his way into the grand hall unannounced. Their eyes were unerringly drawn to the bag in his hand that bore with it the fetid smell of death. Throwing the bloodied sack at the feet of his king, Ron knelt and announced himself.

"King Drakken, I am Kingsguard Ron Stoppable of the Eighteenth Corps, come straight here with word of my success in battle!" the man announced reverently. Strangely, his appearance lent credibility to his simple declaration. There were tears and burns visible in his armor. The hair on one side of his head was singed, and although stubble was growing back, the skin of his scalp and upper left side of his face was the angry red of severely burned, but recovering skin. His left arm hung splinted and in a sling and he had several other wounds on his arms or visible through the rips and tears of his armor.

Despite all that, and the obvious, soul deep fatigue in his eyes, his voice was strong as it reverberated across the huge chamber with an authority that seemed innate as he continued, "I bring news of great import to you and to the kingdom!"

"Rise, Kingsguard and explain yourself!" King Drakken ordered as he regarded the mess at his feet with disgust. "Or I shall have the executioner sharpen his axe as entertainment for tonight?"

"Rumors must have reached you by now of a dragon sighted in the northlands?" Ron declared easily, unfazed by the threats of execution.

"Would I be worthy of being king if I paid attention to little rumors and old wives' tales?" King Drakken remarked flippantly.

"If it were only a rumor," Ron replied evenly, "Then your scouts wouldn't have brought word of its truth, and you wouldn't be mobilizing the Fourth and Fifth Legion, Sire! However, I am here to spare you your troubles, for I have slain said dragon."

Immediately the grand hall broke out in hushed whispers and mumbling that grew louder and louder. "Silence!" King Drakken demanded as he slammed his fists angrily on his throne. Fixing an eye closely on the blond Kingsguard, he asked, "What proof do you bring me then?"

"Aside from the battle wounds I've received, Sire?" Ron asked in a matter of fact manner, "The proof lies at your feet! I give you the dragon's heart which I cut from its chest as it lay dead at my feet."

"A single Kingsguard, slaying the dragon Sherainz?" Drakken all but spat, his tone incredulous, "The Slayer of Portsland, the Burner of the Two Rivers City? Rise and explain yourself, Kingsguard!"

"I know it seems incredible," Ron said easily as he stood, favoring his left leg, "But my training by Captain Barkin, and as he has said, my ability to dodge blows as if God had touched me with some of His own luck were but a part of my success!"

"Bring me word from Captain Barkin, as to the truth of this Kingsguard's claim," King Drakken muttered in a suspicious tone as he nudged the bloodied sack with the toe of his foot before he gestured for two royal guards to pick it up and open it. Glancing into the sack, his nose wrinkled in disgust, before he turned back to Ron. "While I have my royal mages confirm the validity of your claims, regal me a bit if you'd please, of how you slew this dragon. How many men did you lead against this beast?"

"None, Sire."

"None?" the king echoed in surprise. The court immediately broke out in hushed whispers and dozens of shocked scoffs as they regarded the lowly Kingsguard with renewed respect, awe and suspicion. Again, King Drakken slammed his fists to silence the court. "Silence, now!" the king bellowed, but even with the threat of an executioner's axe in the king's tone, it took several long minutes and several more powerful blows to the throne's handles to calm down.

Finally, the king turned his attention back to the seemingly unflappable Kingsguard. For a moment, King Drakken had considered he might indeed be capable of killing a dragon, before his eyes narrowed and he addressed the man again, "You can't expect me to believe that you killed a dragon alone. I've lost hundreds, _thousands_ of my best soldiers to those wretched beasts! It is clearly impossible for a man to slay a dragon alone."

"But I wasn't alone, your highness," Ron replied stoically, unnerved by the king's disbelief and thinly veiled threats. "I had my loyal steed, my training and the luck Captain Barkin claims I have, and most of all I had God's might on my side."

"Really?" King Drakken hummed in a drawn out manner. His thoughts were interrupted by a large armored man jogging into the main hall. All eyes were on the captain of the guard as he stopped near the foot of the throne, knelt and bowed deeply, waiting for the king to speak. "Captain Barkin!" King Drakken grated, "This man, this… Kingsguard here claims to have been trained under you and also audaciously claims to have slain a dragon by himself… Is one of your trainees capable of such a feat?"

Captain Barkin gaped at the king's question, before turning to look at the bedraggled man next to him. He sized him up as he recognized that same freckled-face with blond flaxen hair he thought sure to kill himself with his own sword. His eyes swept over the still fresh injuries that marred his body. The huge man had in his time fought dragons as both a footsoldier and later, a captain. Most of the men he had fought alongside against dragons had come out worse from wear. Broken limbs and singed bodies were the norm.

But he knew how lucky this boy was. How he always seemed to dodge at just the right moment, and even his best training sergeants and he himself were hard pressed to land blows against him. How the boy, no, man, now, could keep going, despite his complaints, despite pain, after others had long since dropped from exhaustion. Nodding, he cleared his throat and looked back at his liege levelly. "Your highness, despite Kingsguard Stoppable's poor results when it came to exams, Stoppable is the only man I could think of who would stand even a grain of sand's worth of a chance against an ocean to defeat a dragon."

A brief susurration ran through the court as King Drakken considered the words. He knew that Captain Barkin was not a man to exaggerate or lie about himself or anyone he knew, and he could see by the officer's stance that he disliked this Stoppable. The king flicked his hand negligently, dismissing Captain Barkin to the side. The king turned his gaze to Ron and nodded at him, "So, either you are the greatest con-man this kingdom has ever seen or the luckiest bastard to ever grace this court! So tell me in detail, how you came to prove victorious over this beast."

"Yes, your highness!" Ron answered with conviction, "I was back in my village, Middlevale, when the beast attacked. It killed a few men before flying off, seeming to have had its fill of death for the night. Filled with the desire for vengeance for my fellow men, I tracked it down into the mountains, where I finally discovered its lair. I laid in wait for the beast and it soon returned, its belly full of game and livestock. As it lay down to slumber, I snuck up on it, skewering its wings where they met the body, as Captain Barkin once taught us to do if we ever had the opportunity."

"So you slew the beast while it slept?" the king raised an eyebrow condescendingly with a scoff.

"Where God gave dragons fire, keen senses, flight and talons, God also gave humans cunning and wit. It would be foolish not to use our strengths when the dragons wield theirs in every fight!" Ron explained calmly. "But no, Sire… Although, I got the first blow in, the fight did not end there. The beast refused to die and awoke with a blinding rage."

"I drew my sword as I attempted to bar the beast from charging out of its cave, however, its tail caught me," He nodded to his broken arm, "My shield was dented beyond repair, but the smiths of the kingdom are the best in the world, so at least I wasn't torn in two. Nonetheless, it turned and tried to breathe its horrid breath at me. As you can see, it almost cost me everything. It had tried to fly, however, while the lance in its wings broke, it tore the wing enough to keep it grounded! So the beast took to the surrounding forest. I took to my steed and gave chase, following the path the beast tore through the mountainside.

"I tracked it for a day before it was tired enough and decided to ambush me," Ron indicated at the gash along his leg. "The dragon threw me off my horse and drew blood from me as its talons raked my leg. I had managed to roll to safety and drew my sword against the beast. Both tired from the chase, we decided that this was going to be a battle to the death. We fought like this for one whole day and night. Back and forth until finally I managed a fortuitous blow."

Ron was eerily calm as he recited his tale. King Drakken glanced uncertainly at Captain Barkin for a moment as he noted the look of rapt fascination on the old captain's face. Disregarding the king's momentary lapse of attention in his story, Ron continued, "It was trying to find a place of advantage, and as I led my steed through a long draw, and the dragon tried to bit us both from the top of the draw. But it was tired and wounded, and misjudged the distance, missing us by only a few handbreadths! It had struck its neck out too far and exposed its neck to me. I thrust my sword upwards and took the beast's eye while my blade dug deep into its skull."

Ron paused, as if remembering a horrible sight, "It fell down into the draw, and even thrashing and shuddering in its death throes it tried to kill my steed and myself both. But its chest was stuck, wedged unmoving in a narrower part of the draw. I crawled up the side of the draw, careful to avoid the flailing arms and tail, and fell upon the chest with all my might."

He winced as if in remembered agony, and reached down to rub above his leg wound, "Despite the pain and fatigue, my sword stroke was true! I pierced into its heart and it finally breathed its last breath. That was when I cut out its heart and rode straight here to present it to you, my liege."

Drakken nodded pensively for a moment. Luck, it would seem was with the Kingsguard… God's own luck, if Stoppable's claims of Captain Barkin's words were true. And if it was indeed a dragon's heart. At that moment, a page crept up to the king before whispering a message to his royal highness. Nodding in approval, he dismissed the page with a flick of his wrist before turning back to the Kingsguard.

"Since my royal mages have ascertained the genuineness of the dragon's heart, your story must be true. You must either be the greatest warrior the kingdom has ever known or the biggest fraud the kingdom has ever seen." He paused and regarded the stoic Kingsguard who didn't flinch a bit from his accusation. "Or the luckiest man throughout the kingdom. Tell me then, what boon would you request from your king for your heroic deed?"

"Five thousand pieces of gold or the equal in jewels and five hundred acres of land near Middlevale." Ron announced without bating a breath.

King Drakken regarded him closely for a moment, before breaking out into a maniacal laugh. "What a man!" he chuckled and the entire court decided to join him in sycophantic mirth. "I would have given you a dukeship, no, even a _barony_ for your deeds. You could have your pick of any one of the Western Kingdoms to rule over, you could be a regent even, but all you ask for is five thousand pieces of gold and some farmland? I may even consider granting you my daughter's hand in marriage! But it must truly be my lucky day that I get such a bargain. Fine, you shall have your boon."

"And my retirement, your highness," Ron added quickly. "After such a battle… I have no wish to see any more bloodshed for the rest of my life, and I would like to hang up my sword."

"Ah," the king grinned as he looked at him closely with that scarred left eye of his. "Well, if there had been any more dragons left in the world, a man of your skills would find yourself wanting. But since you've just delivered the heart of the last dragon, you've automatically become out of a job. Have it your way then."

"Thank you, your highness," Ron bowed as he turned to leave the grand hall.

"Wait, Hero Stoppable" the king ordered him amid the gasps from the court as he bestowed the rarely given title on the man, "Will you be staying for the grand celebrations in recognition of your heroic deeds?"

"Your majesty," Ron bowed with a flourish. "It is enough honor for me to be of service to a great king such as you."

"Fine, fine," King Drakken beamed at the hero's words of flattery. "Be off with you then."

As Ron left the grand hall, he paused only to stop by the royal treasury to pick up his boon. He flung the heavy bags carrying one hundred pieces of gold over his shoulder after tucking the title deed and the bag of cut jewels into his pack. Flipping the royal accoutant a gold piece as tip, he left the castle. He made his way quickly towards the stables his horse was quartered. After a few minutes walk, he came upon the stables where his steed, Rufus, and a woman wearing a white hooded greatcloak holding Rufus' reins stood waiting.

Instantly a smile blossomed on his face. He walked up to Rufus and the woman, his tone cheerful as he murmured to her, "You know you needn't have come with me for this." He slung the gold over Rufus' saddlebags, then reached out to embrace her.

"I just don't want to be apart from you longer than I have to," Shego replied as she returned the hug.

After a moment, Ron drew back a little. He brought his hand up touch her chest, which was bound with a swath of bandages. To anyone looking on, it would seem as if he'd placed his hand over her heart, although her heart was even then being taken to the royal taxidermist. "Does it still hurt?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Shego smiled slyly as she placed her hand gently over his. In a husky whisper, she replied, "Not if you kiss me, my truemate…"

"Then I shall oblige," he replied quickly and pulled his wife into a kiss, "Let's get out of here, and start our life properly…" He helped her into Rufus' saddle and held the reins as they walked out of the Kingdom of Go and into the annals of history.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

And thus it ends. Though I wonder, hmm... human and dragon courtship. Does it count as bestiality? If you don't know what that means, please don't Google it. Aww damn, now you're going to Google it. I should just shut up.

I really did break out the cheese for this chapter. Yes, a couple of cheesy lines. I've been keeping them in a WAFF-y footlocker at the foot of my bed. Never mind.

Yes, plenty much thanks to kriegsherr-wy for pulling in some last minute work, despite his hectic schedule, hot lesbian parties and off-days. Okay, I'm kidding about the hot lesbian parties. Anyway, it's really to his credit that this chapter turned out this way. For the better. Seriously it's good. I should have credited him a couple of chapters back, but this is the first and last ANs that I would actually edit and write on the spot. So thank you, and yeah, it's been a good four years.

Right. And as promised, (though I did miss the timeline) the fic is now complete. Really. See you in the year 2525.


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